Chapter 25: Earthly Ties
By no means was Silas going to continue training with Zangetsu. Doing so would have vastly awakened an even greater power.
Throughout their time in the inner world, he only sought to learn the getsuga tenshō. After Zangetsu unleashed it once, that was all it took for Silas to be able to copy it. This was the euphoria he inside. Being hit by it was the same as accepting Zangetsu for what it was: his weapon.
Then there was Isshin Kurosaki. If Silas unleashed Zangetsu's power haphazardly, it would break the bind between Isshin's Gigai and Zangetsu. This same bind was created in order to suppress Zangetsu. If it were to break, Isshin's Soul Reaper powers would return to him. Silas was by no means going to let that happen.
• • •
The next day.
Silas attended the last day of school like everyone else. Some people began to sob and shed tears. Others made plans as to how they were going to enjoy their time together.
"Ichigo, how about it?" Orihime asked. "We're all going to the beach and would like you to come."
"I'm not interested."
"Huh?" There was a letdown in Orihime's tone.
"You things are a disgusting pile of filth, needing to be cleansed…" When others around heard that and saw Orihime about to cry, they all berated him. Not a single one of them, save Uryū, was going to tolerate this sort of behaviour. Especially toward the prettiest girl in their class.
"What happened to you, Ichigo?" Mizuiro asked in concern.
Not even Tatsuki could defend him. She was more upset than Keigo. Orihime tried to calm everyone down, pretending not to have been hurt. Yet not a single person believed it. One by one, they each slandered Silas. Their words fell on deaf ears as he sat down, resting his elbows on the desk, eyes closed.
When he felt Uryū about to stand up, he released a small portion of his spiritual pressure on him, signifying to have regained what he implied to have lost. The act kept him sitting. Chad then approached Silas, wondering if something had happened back home for him to be acting this way.
Slowly rising from his desk, he said, "A sanctimonious prick has no right to stand against me..."
All the students were stunned to have heard the comment. Chad and Ichigo were friends, having fought gang members side-by-side. Hearing they were arguing raised several alarms. Silas walked right past him. Flustered, Chad reached out to grab his shoulder, saying, "I—Ichigo, wait, that's not what I…"
Boom!
Everyone's eyes widened upon seeing Chad lying on the ground. This was a teenager who weighed almost two hundred fifty pounds. Yet Silas had easily flipped him over his shoulder like it was nothing. Silence plagued the room as Silas was about to walk out.
The last person to try to stop him was Tatsuki. In an overly concerned yet angered tone, she yelled, "Ichigo, just what the heck is wrong with you?!"
Silas turned around and said, "A dike should learn her place. Now don't bother me again, or you'll get the same treatment."
• • •
School had long ended. Both Silas and Uryū were back in their usual sport to discuss things.
"Did you have to cause that much of a commotion today?" Uryū asked.
"Yes, I did…"
"Why?"
Silas explained that it was a necessity so as not to involve any of Ichigo's friends in his affairs. The comments were undoubtedly harsh, to the point of provocation. But his actions proved effective. Not a single one of Ichigo's former high school friends would be journeying with him to the Soul Society except for Uryū. And while Silas was away, no one would be worried or concerned about his whereabouts.
Uryū himself believed Silas only said those words to protect them. In truth, Silas would have done more than just flip Chad and verbally hurt Orihime to get them to leave him alone. There were no sentimental regards for any of them. For deep down inside, he believed he was living in hell.
• • •
The same night, Silas hadn't returned home. He had been busy trying to remember what events happened in the Soul Society arc. While he was forming meticulous scenarios, Uryū had been instructed to go train with Ryūken Ishida, his father.
It wouldn't be for long since the two only had four days left to prepare. That much time was still more than enough. During their training session, Uryū had successfully learned what Silas needed him to. All of those Quincy techniques would serve him well in the long run.
Stopping by a convenience store, Silas looked inside and spotted something out of the ordinary. He walked in to take a closer look. The place had been a bookstore. It hadn't looked any different from the other nearby stores, yet it had something he hadn't laid eyes on in some time: the Holy Bible.
Silas picked it off the shelf and turned the pages. It was the King James Version, and the texts lined up perfectly. As he slowly flipped the pages, he began to remember his wife's comments about praying.
Nothing could ever replace his family on earth, nor could he find a reason to replace them. Silas was a husband with two children. Even if he had no one and was a loser, he would never trade what he had back on earth. This place, this world, didn't feel like home. Daily, he felt troubled, being called a name that wasn't his.
When he turned to a certain page and read what it said, he began to understand how and why he had come here. Silas closed the Bible, walked to the front, and decided to purchase it.
"That's strange," the clerk said. "This item's not in our inventory. Doesn't look to have a barcode on it either."
"That so…?"
The clerk gladly allowed Silas to keep it for free. This only further added to the notion of what Silas's true purpose in this world was.
Once he stepped outside, a black cat was waiting for him. It was Yoruichi, someone he had sensed after returning to town. Silas stared at her for a second until she said in a deep, manly tone, "Yo." When he asked what she wanted, she was more interested in why he wasn't shocked that a cat could talk.
"I despise cats. Talking ones are even more abominable."
Yoruichi groomed her head, unfazed by the comment. She then introduced herself as Kisuke's helper. Silas, though knowing almost everything about her, asked why she was here. So she explained that she had sensed him regain his Soul Reaper powers, wishing to know how he accomplished it. His answer was simple: he used the soul candy he bought months ago.
This caused Yoruichi to be impressed by Silas's prudence. She then revealed that she had followed him before. Since he had awakened his powers, she wanted to take him over to Kisuke's shop now. Silas, however, requested that he come tomorrow morning so as to say goodbye to Ichigo's family. Permitting this, she departed the area to wait for when he would be ready.
Upon returning home, Silas found Isshin sleeping on the kitchen table. Karin and Yuzu were sleeping in their bed upstairs. There was food spread out everywhere. It was almost as if the family was waiting for him to return and celebrate the last day of school together.
After sensing that no one was around, nor was there anything out of the ordinary, a terrible aura began to fill the house. All that was going on in Silas's head was the verse he had read in the Bible. Jeremiah 12:3: But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.
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