The Inoue Residence.
"Ah, I'm so full! Orihime, your cooking is absolutely delicious!" Rangiku said contentedly, patting her stomach.
"Re... really?" Orihime asked incredulously.
'Fake! It's definitely fake!!' Toshiro roared inwardly.
"Of course! The taste might not look like much, but the flavor is excellent!" Rangiku on the side praised enthusiastically.
Orihime's face lit up with joy: "Th... that's great! Before, no one except me wanted to eat the food I made, so when you said it was delicious just now, I thought your tongue might be broken!"
'You think exactly right, there's definitely something wrong with Rangiku's tongue!' Toshiro continued to complain furiously in his mind.
Toshiro hadn't eaten in nearly a day since coming to the Living World. He was touched that Orihime, despite being injured, had personally cooked for them. But when Orihime brought out the finished dishes, Toshiro couldn't smile anymore.
Because the dishes Orihime made didn't look very appetizing. They weren't as exaggerated as the dark cuisine in anime, but even compared to ordinary home cooking, they fell far short.
Toshiro thought that even if they didn't look good, maybe they tasted okay.
But after taking one bite, Toshiro couldn't eat another bite.
To describe Orihime's cooking in two words: bad! It wasn't that her cooking method was wrong, but the seasonings were all wrong. She would throw all sorts of random seasonings in, and a lot of them.
So the resulting dishes had a very strange taste! In short, Toshiro understood why no one wanted to eat the food Orihime made.
As for why Rangiku ate with as much gusto as Orihime, it was because Rangiku's taste was very strange. Toshiro, having spent many years with Rangiku, knew this very well.
And now it seemed that Orihime and Rangiku were kindred spirits when it came to food preferences.
"Oh, by the way, would you like some ice cream, Rangiku-san?" Orihime asked with a beaming smile.
Clearly, she was very happy that Rangiku approved of her cooking.
"Ice cream? Sure, sure!"
"Here you go, Rangiku-san. Vanilla ice cream and cookies."
"Mmm, delicious..."
Rangiku and Orihime chatted happily while eating their dessert, like best friends who had known each other for years.
"Hey, Captain, why haven't you touched your food?" Rangiku suddenly noticed that Toshiro's food, placed in front of him, had remained untouched from start to finish.
"Ah, well... I'm not really that hungry..."
"Growl..."
Just as Toshiro was trying to explain, his stomach growled embarrassingly.
Then the air went completely silent.
Rangiku: "..."
Orihime: "..."
"Cough, cough..."
After a long while, Rangiku gave a light cough, then handed the vanilla ice cream and cookies in her hand to Toshiro: "Eat up, Captain. You haven't eaten all day. If you don't fill your stomach, how can you fight the Hollows?"
Seeing this, Orihime also guiltily handed the ice cream in her hand to Toshiro: "I'm sorry, Captain Hitsugaya. I actually know my cooking isn't good at all. It's just that Rangiku-san was the first person to ever praise my cooking, so I got a bit carried away and forgot about your feelings. Please, have some ice cream and cookies to fill your stomach for now. I'll go to the convenience store and buy some normal food..."
"Don't go to so much trouble. I'll just have some ice cream and cookies. We're already very grateful that you're letting us stay at your place. I can't keep troubling you. Besides, with my strength, not eating for a day is nothing. I'd be fine even if I didn't eat for a year," Toshiro said.
After the meal…
Well, even though he only ate some ice cream and cookies, for Toshiro, it could be considered 'after the meal', right?
After 'eating', Toshiro appeared once again on the roof of the Inoue house.
Earlier, Toshiro had sensed something unusual. Although he found nothing when he tried to sense carefully, Toshiro was still a bit concerned.
Because for an existence at Toshiro's level, even a slight 'whim' indicated that something was about to happen.
So after 'eating', Toshiro stood again on the roof of the Inoue house, closing his eyes and carefully sensing the situation throughout Karakura Town.
"What! That's a Hollow's Reiatsu!!" Toshiro's eyes snapped open.
Before, when only Grimmjow, one Hollow, was in the Living World, Toshiro hadn't noticed him immediately due to the distance and Grimmjow's relatively skilled method of hiding his Reiatsu.
But now, as Toshiro sensed again, not only Grimmjow, but also his subordinate officers had come to the Living World and were beginning to take action, so it was impossible to hide from Toshiro any longer!
Toshiro immediately took out his communicator, adjusted it to the public channel: "Sojiro, Ashido, Renji, Rukia! Hollows incoming! Their location is... Prepare for battle!!"
"Received!"
"Received!"
"Received!"
"Received!"
Then Toshiro immediately ended the communication, took out a Gikon, and swallowed it in one gulp, becoming a Shinigami. His Gigai was temporarily controlled by the Gikon.
"You go find a safe place to hide!" Toshiro said to the Gikon.
"Yes!" The Gikon replied, then immediately controlled Toshiro's Gigai and ran off into the distance.
Whoosh!
At the same time, Rangiku, also having transformed into a Shinigami, suddenly appeared on the roof.
"Captain!"
Rangiku had also heard Toshiro's order through the communicator, so she knew what was happening.
"What about Orihime?" Toshiro asked.
"Orihime's injuries haven't fully recovered yet, so to keep her out of the fight, I have my Gigai watching her downstairs," Rangiku replied.
"Is that so? Then, Rangiku, let's go!" Toshiro said solemnly.
With that, Toshiro took the lead, heading towards the location of Grimmjow, who had the strongest Reiatsu among the Hollows.
But just after traveling a short distance, two unexpected guests blocked the path of Toshiro and Rangiku.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Two figures stood before Toshiro and Rangiku.
One had a thin braid and wore a helmet shaped like an overturned boat, connected to a mask covering the left side of his face.
The other was a large, stout man with a mask covering the right side of his face.
"Hello, I am the Hollow, Shawlong Koufang," said the one with the thin braid.
"Vice-Captain-Commander of the 13th Division, Captain of the 10th Division, Hitsugaya Toshiro!" Toshiro said solemnly.