A dimensional journey starting from the Dragon Clan

Chapter 535 528. Bon voyage

"for you."

The mask is Xu's 'spiritual core', in other words, it is the source of power.

Removing the mask weakens the Hollow's power and, if you're lucky, awakens part of its sanity.

After doing all this, Xuan Hao threw the Hollow in his hand towards Kurosaki Ichigo, and then disappeared from the spot.

"grateful."

After catching Inoue's brother, Kurosaki Ichigo said thank you and returned to the room.

······

"Next, let's talk."

A voice echoed in the empty space.

Hearing this voice, the two figures raised their heads in confusion at the same time.

They sat less than a meter apart from each other, but their eyes failed to reflect each other, and they seemed to only see a blank space.

"I...what happened?"

In the blank space, Inoue Hao looked at his hands in confusion.

For some reason, his hands were covered in blood at this moment.

"Am I...dead?"

In the blank space, Inoue Orihime looked around confusedly.

There is nothing, is this heaven or hell?

The two of them were clearly in the same space, but they seemed to be separated by a whole world, unable to hear, see, or touch.

······

"Have you forgotten what you did?"

A voice asked Inoue Hao.

"what did I do?"

Inoue Hao raised his head in confusion.

"It seems like you really don't remember."

The voice sighed, "Forget it, just see with your own eyes what you have done."

After the voice fell, scenes and scenes flooded into Inoue Hao's mind.

“Ahhhhh——”

Inoue Hao curled up in a ball in pain, holding his head tightly, feeling as if his brain was about to burst.

It's not because there are too many pictures pouring in, it's just because these pictures are not what he wants to see.

"I...I-what did I do!?"

He looked at everything in pain, with blood and tears welling up in his eyes.

He finally knew where the blood on his hands came from.

This is the blood of his sister, Orihime Inoue.

"No, it's impossible...how could I?"

Inoue Hao kept denying it.

Because he knew very well that it was impossible for him to do such a thing, that was his favorite sister!

He still clearly remembered that his sister was born when he was fifteen years old.

She is more like a daughter than a sister.

Because of his parents' violence, he had to secretly take care of his sister without telling them.

At the age of 18, he secretly took the three-year-old Orihime Inoue away from home and lived a life of dependence on each other.

In the spring of his 27th year, he died. After his death, Inoue Orihime prayed for him every day, and he felt redeemed by it.

So far, everything has been normal.

But what happens next...

"What on earth... happened to me?"

Inoue Hao asked about the voice, hoping that the other party could give him an answer as to why he couldn't control himself and why he was unable to resist and do such a thing.

"Why do you ask me about this kind of thing?"

The voice sighed and replied, "If you want to know the answer, you should find it yourself."

"Where should I find it?"

"I don't know. The direction of life is always confusing. No one can give you the answer."

"Then what should I do……"

"There will always be a way, right? After all, you are her brother."

Xuan Hao looked at the man kneeling on the ground quietly and stopped talking.

The world fell into a brief silence.

At this moment, two people were kneeling in front of him.

One is Inoue Hao who is struggling in pain, and the other is Inoue Orihime who is crying.

He divided the entire space into three independent time and spaces. The Inoue brothers and sisters were in the same place with him, but could not see each other. The only thing that could be conveyed was the 'voice of the heart'.

Only when they firmly believe that their own voices can be conveyed will their voices ring in the other person's mind.

This is a trial.

He just wanted to see if this brother, like himself, could feel and find his sister no matter what time and space she was in.

······

"You're not dead."

A voice echoed in Inoue Orihime's mind.

Inoue Orihime raised her head and looked around suspiciously, but couldn't see anything.

She felt like she had heard this voice somewhere, but she couldn't remember it.

"I'm not dead, so where is this place?"

Inoue Orihime asked doubtfully.

"This is a place to express my thoughts."

The voice answered her.

"You must have a lot to say to your brother, right?"

"Who...are you? Do you know my brother?" Inoue Orihime was a little confused.

"I know you, and I know your brother, and I also know that you didn't have time to say goodbye."

A picture flashed in front of Xuan Hao, and he calmly watched everything in front of him.

This is the memory that Inoue Orihime hides deep in her heart.

In this space, no matter who he is, he seems to be transparent in his eyes.

"So, now I give you the opportunity to convey it to him and tell him what you didn't have time to say when he left."

"Really, can it be conveyed?"

Inoue Orihime hesitated.

She clearly remembered that her brother was dead.

She died when she was still in junior high school.

What kind of existence could allow her to convey her deepest thoughts to a person who has been dead for many years?

"certainly."

The other party replied in the affirmative.

For some reason, Inoue Orihime felt that she could trust this voice.

Because she felt that this somewhat familiar voice would not deceive her.

"what should I do?"

"As long as you firmly believe that your voice can reach you, your brother will definitely be able to hear you."

······

"I...actually, I...have always had something to say to my brother..."

"!!?"

Inoue Hao suddenly raised his head.

"Is this... Orihime's voice?"

He looked around, but couldn't see anything, and no one gave him an answer.

"That day, my brother bought me a hairpin with flowers...I don't understand why, but I just don't like it..."

"Later I understood... It's not that I don't like hairpins, but I didn't have beautiful long hair at the time and couldn't bring the hairpins my brother gave me..."

"..."

Inoue Hao looked at the scene in front of him in disbelief.

As his sister's voice continued to narrate, scenes appeared in front of him like a projection, including not only familiar scenes, but also unfamiliar scenes that he had never seen before.

"Orihime...you know? Your hair is beautiful, the color is beautiful, and it feels warm just like the sun."

He saw that he had touched Orihime's head and praised her beautiful hair.

He remembered this scene. He also knew that shortly after this, Orihime cut her hair short.

He didn't understand why at the time, but now after seeing those pictures he had never seen before, he understood.

"I cut it off... when I was in junior high school... I just entered junior high school at that time, and my third-grade senior said, 'I hate your hair when I see it,' so she cut it off for me."

A nameless anger ignited in Inoue Hao's heart.

He never knew that his sister had been bullied like this in school.

He saw Orihime in tears and had to cut off the remaining long hair to make it even with the part that was forced to be cut short.

Because of this, she couldn't bring the hairpin he gave her.

"Why...didn't you tell me? Orihime..."

He asked, but still no one answered him.

"I'm sorry...brother..."

Orihime's voice continued to tell.

Inoue Hao knelt down weakly in the blank, at a loss.

He thought back to the day he died.

That day, he had a ridiculous quarrel with Orihime because she didn't like the hairpin he gave her. This was their first and last quarrel.

He remembered that when he went out that day, Orihime said nothing, finished her meal in silence, and then fell asleep facing the wall.

And he never returned to that home.

"Why...does it have to be that day?"

The two voices asked the same question, overlapping each other across different time and space. The voice was filled with sadness and regret.

"well……"

Listening to these two overlapping voices, Xuan Hao shook his head slightly and sighed.

That's why he didn't want to be in trouble in the first place.

Now that Orihime Inoue is able to face her future life with a smile, she should let this sadness remain buried deep in her memory forever.

But after listening to Kurosaki Ichigo's words, he felt that his approach might be wrong.

Because if a person does not have the courage to face sadness, he cannot move on. Even though she seems to be moving forward...

"Brother usually leaves for work earlier than me...that day...before you went out, I didn't even say hello."

Inoue Orihime folded her hands on her chest, her eyes filled with tears, as if praying.

She breathed deeply, thinking silently in her heart that she would be able to convey it.

This was what she had always wanted to say to her brother but had not had the chance to say.

"Actually, I've been regretting that...I couldn't say that to you..."

"Brother...walk slowly..."

······

"Ah-ah-ah-"

Hoarse voices kept coming from the mouth of Inoue Hao who had become hollow.

He crawled towards Orihime Inoue with his huge body, and stretched out his hand, as if he wanted to touch the girl in front of him.

"This is how the same thing?"

Kuchiki Rukia frowned and looked at the scene in front of her.

"You ask me? How do I know!"

Ichigo Kurosaki looked at Rukia Kuchiki beside him speechlessly, thinking that you are the real god of death. You don’t even know what is happening now, how can I know?

All he can do now is hold his Zanpakutō and be ready to save Inoue Orihime from Kyon's hands.

But now it seems like it’s not the time to take action...

They didn't know why, but they felt unspeakably sad.

This one is crying. The same is true for Inoue Orihime, who is on the opposite side of the virtual world.

From the moment Kurosaki Ichigo brought Inoue's brother back to his room.

This person seemed to have fallen into a sluggish state.

The soul of Orihime Inoue sat there blankly, her eyes full of confusion, as if she couldn't see anything.

Even Kuchiki Rukia, a god of death, has never seen a soul in such a situation.

The situation of Hao Inoue who became a virtual one is also the same.

It kept struggling in place, its eyes were dull, and it lacked the madness and murderous intention of being a virtual being, nor the clarity of being a human being.

This situation has been going on for some time.

It is precisely because this situation continues that Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia don't know what to do now.

"Ori... Ji..."

Finally, after a long time, under the surprised gazes of the two people, Inoue Hao clearly called out his sister's name.

Following this call, something even more surprising happened to the two of them.

"What's happening here?"

Rukia Kuchiki looked dumbfounded at the scene in front of her that subverted her view of being a Shinigami.

She saw that the hollow shell of Inoue Hao was crumbling, and it seemed that... he was transforming into a human.

"How can this be?"

She asked, pinching Kurosaki Ichigo's arm.

She had never heard of such a situation.

Can a soul that becomes a Hollow turn back into a normal soul after taking off its mask? This is simply unreasonable.

"I told you not to ask me!"

Kurosaki Ichigo slapped her hand away, looking equally confused.

But in his opinion, this seemed to be a good thing.

It would be great if Inoue's brother could turn back into an ordinary soul. In this case, they wouldn't have to kill her brother in front of Inoue with their own hands...

"Orihime..."

When the hollow shell completely faded away, Inoue Hao's vision became clear, but his body seemed to be dissipated at any time, remaining translucent.

"elder brother……"

Almost at the same time, Inoue Orihime also recovered from her confusion.

Her voice really came through, and at this moment she seemed to hear the call from her brother.

No, it didn’t seem like it, but I actually heard it.

Looking at the faint figure appearing in front of her with a gentle smile, Inoue Orihime reached out her hand with tears in her eyes, wanting to touch her.

Then she felt a warm touch.

This is the temperature of my long-lost brother’s palm.

"Orihime... Brother heard everything..."

Inoue Hao held his sister's hand tightly, "I'm sorry..."

"sorry……"

Inoue Orihime also said the same thing.

The knot between the brother and sister for many years seemed to be completely resolved with this apology.

At the same time, it also means that the time of farewell has arrived.

Inoue Hao's soul is getting weaker and weaker, and it seems that it will disappear at any time.

"Orihime, brother is going out..."

He smiled and let go of his sister's hand.

"Um……"