"I`m so bored!" Shinji said, sitting on a couch. Noticing Silas was a few feet behind him, he tilted his head upside down and let his head hang, saying, "Hey, Ichigo, wanna hear a funny joke?"

　　"No& You made me laugh so hard last time that I almost threw up."

　　"Awe! You`re no fun!"

　　This was a regular thing in the warehouse. Boredom plagued the walls when there was seemingly nothing to do. Members like Kensei always spent their time working out. When he wasn`t doing that, he slept all day until it was time for dinner. Then there was Mashiro, who lounged around watching television.

　　"Why don`t we go out on a picnic together?" Rose suggested, tuning his guitar on the other couch.

　　"Good idea," Love agreed. "Besides, we haven`t done anything to celebrate Ichigo`s joining us."

　　Silas tried his best not to furrow his brows. To be frank, he wasn`t aware that the Visoreds even gathered at events like that. Yes, they might be seen around town together, but never as an entire group.

　　"This isn`t a plot to bring Lisa and him together, is it?" Shinji genuinely asked.

　　"Quit joking around," Lisa said, putting her magazine down. She looked annoyed considering this had become Shinji`s go-to quip.

　　After having spent this much time with the group, Silas believed that now was the perfect opportunity to get closer to Lisa and dispel any unneeded feud between them.

　　Only a few minutes passed for everyone to get ready.

　　" " "

　　The sun was still high in the sky, making it the perfect day for a picnic. The spot chosen was a beautiful open landscape in a rich park.

　　Silas recognized this park due to the cherry blossoms that bloomed here regularly. To think that the Visoreds knew how to indulge themselves in vanity. It sickened him.

　　These were still Soul Reapers somewhere inside, but none of them acted like it. This was made apparent just as they sat down and Silas sensed a Hollow nearby. Undoubtedly, the others would have sensed it, too, yet they all ignored it as if it weren`t their problem.

　　Silas honestly couldn`t care less about it either. It was the hypocrisy that he didn`t like. Not even Shinji, who acted like more of a Soul Reaper than they all, did anything about it.

　　"Aren`t ya gonna handle that?" Shinji asked.

　　"A Soul Reaper stationed here should be taking care of it," he answered. Silas further went on to explain that it wouldn`t be a good idea if he was spotted by someone from the Soul Society.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

　　But when no Soul Reaper came, and it was apparent that the Hollow was causing a problem, he had no choice but to deal with it. Why? Because the story he shared about who he was would have made him look suspicious if he hadn`t.

　　"This I gotta see!" Kensei said as Silas pulled out Zangetsu.

　　The others didn`t hesitate to follow him to where the Hollow was located.

　　"Yay, we finally get to see Ichigo in action!" Mashiro cheered, running alongside her members.

　　By the time Silas made it to where the Hollow was, he noticed a multitude of kids staring aimlessly at it. There hadn`t seemed to be any guardian or parents nearby, prompting him to believe that this Hollow lured little children to likely devour them.

　　It was a gargantuan, its form a warped parody of a praying mantis, towering over the kids. Its translucent claws twitched, hungry and dripping with corrosive ichor.

　　Something like that was definitely worthy of the Seireitei`s attention. So why hadn`t a Soul Reaper shown up yet?

　　The first thing Silas did was activate a kidM spell to mask his presence. He seemed almost casual, Zangetsu resting in its katana form after manifesting. No flash of power, no drawn-out release.

　　The Hollow shrieked upon sensing a strong force nearby. Since it couldn`t see him, it launched itself at his spectators, the Visoreds. Silas moved faster, blurring with a terrifying grace. He flowed around the descending claw, a pivot and a flash of steel as Zangetsu found the chitinous joint.

　　A sickening crack echoed, and the severed limb crashed to the ground, spewing black ichor.

　　The Visoreds stirred. This wasn`t brute force, it was chillingly elegant. Every slice Silas made was with near-surgical precision, exposing fleshy nodes beneath the Hollow`s armour. Its attempts to retaliate were met with flowing dodges, Silas slipping beneath its clumsy swipes.

　　Lisa, perched on a rusting slide, felt a prickle of unexpected admiration. This was a warrior honed not in the Seireitei, but on some other, unseen battlefield.

　　In a blink, it was over. One final, flowing movement, and Zangetsu cleaved the Hollow`s monstrous head in two. Its wail dissolved into fading spirit particles, leaving behind a strange silence.

　　Silas stood, his expression unchanged, sunlight glinting off the unsullied edge of Zangetsu. Then, a subtle shift in the air, barely a breeze. The leaves it carried danced towards Lisa, swirling into a crude, yet unmistakable shape—a heart.

　　His gaze flickered towards her, a hint of a challenge, a touch of amusement in those dark eyes as he slid Zangetsu back into its sheath.

　　"You know," he said, his voice a low drawl, "There`s more to a blade than just cutting."

　　For the first time, Lisa began to show more interest in him than in her magazines.

　　Why wouldn`t Silas perform such an act? Lisa was just that type of woman, someone who might have enjoyed reading romance novels yet failed at romance herself.

　　As Silas began his walk back, the kids` illusion ceased. Many of them looked around, wondering how they got into the area. Confused, they all ran, phasing through Silas as if he were a spirit.

　　After one kid ran right through him, he felt a strange sensation in his head. It was as if someone shot lightning into his skull. The pain caused him to grip his forehead, falling to the ground.

　　The Visoreds screamed out to him. He could barely hear them as his mind began to go blank.

　　What happened? Was it EnrakyMten? No, this is different.`

　　Silas looked around to see what was wrong, and when his attention was drawn to one of the kids that ran by him, he understood that he made a grave mistake coming here. That kid was no ordinary character, it was the past version of Ichigo!