Bleach: No cheat codes, he joined Aizen's side.

Chapter 27 27. Kisuke Urahara’s temptation

A light snow began to fall outside the window. After casually finding an excuse to send Soi Fon away, Higashino Shuichi checked the sword case placed beside his bed. Fortunately, there were no signs that it had been opened.

However, after the inspection, Higashino Shuichi himself couldn't help but laugh.

He knew he was being a bit too concerned. If a Grim Reaper had indeed opened the sword case, unless it was one of the Kasumi family members, that Grim Reaper would not have used that special glove to pick up the Thunderfire without knowing it was the Baku Yao Blade. So what would happen next was obvious.

In that case, when he wakes up, there will definitely be more than just Soi Fon waiting outside.

"Hello, Third Seat Shuichi. I am Kisuke Urahara, Third Seat of the Second Division. May I ask if it is convenient for me to come in now?"

Just as Higashino Shuichi was packing his things to leave the Second Division, there was a knock on the door.

"Kisuke Urahara."

Higashino Shuichi immediately stopped what he was doing. It must have been Soi Fon, whom he had just sent away, who reported to Urahara Kisuke that he had woken up.

"Please come in!"

Higashino Shuichi stood up and replied towards the door.

Soon, a handsome man with a touch of languid charm walked in.

Unlike Kyoraku Shunsui's seemingly cynical attitude, Urahara Kisuke's demeanor is more like a calm and composed one, as if everything is under control.

It's no wonder that Aizen, after only seeing Kisuke Urahara a few times, asserted that Urahara was one of the few opponents in Soul Society he could take seriously.

These two people have too many similarities.

"I only used some ordinary healing spells on you, Shuichi. I didn't expect your body to recover so quickly!"

Upon meeting, Kisuke Urahara began with a series of formulaic compliments.

"Not at all, if it weren't for your reply, Kisuke Sansekai, I certainly wouldn't be in much better shape right now!"

Higashino Shuichi responded with formulaic politeness, adhering to the principle of "I won't move unless the enemy moves."

"After sparring with our captain, Shuichi, are you still determined to stay in the Fourth Division?"

As expected, after realizing that Higashino Shuichi was playing games with him, Urahara Kisuke immediately changed his speaking strategy and chose to get straight to the point.

"Does Kisuke also think I should come to the Second Division?"

Higashino Shuichi narrowed his eyes and looked at Urahara Kisuke across from him.

To be honest, he couldn't figure out Urahara Kisuke's attitude or what his purpose was in coming to see him. Therefore, the best approach was to pass the buck and see what Urahara Kisuke was really up to.

Kisuke Urahara and Shuichi Higashino exchanged a glance, their smiles remaining. Instead of answering the question directly, they posed a seemingly unrelated one: "I heard that you were incredibly popular during your time as vice-captain of the Fourth Division. The members of the Fourth Division all held you and Captain Unohana in high esteem, and this remained unchanged even after you stepped down. It seems your current vice-captain, Seinosuke Yamada, often has a headache about this!" "Really? I've never heard our vice-captain mention anything like that. Speaking of which, although he won the position from us, I truly accepted my defeat wholeheartedly. The entire Fourth Division witnessed our match that day; I was clearly outmaneuvered. I believe the members of our Fourth Division also deeply respect Vice-Captain Yamada!"

"I'm slightly surprised," said Higashino Shuichi.

He secretly thought to himself, "It would be a miracle if Yamada Seinosuke, who only has eyes for Unohana Retsu, cared about the feelings of the ordinary Shinigami in the Fourth Division. For him, a single smile from Unohana Retsu could warm his heart for days. As for the ordinary members, what are they?"
The reason he went to such lengths to become the vice-captain was simply to get closer to Retsu Unohana.

Therefore, Higashino Shuichi can be 100% certain that Urahara Kisuke's words were a test for him.

"That's just a rumor. But I think that since you're so respected by your teammates and have such a gentle personality, why did you adopt such an aggressive fighting style in your sparring session with Captain Yoruichi yesterday? It doesn't seem to fit your personality at all."

Kisuke Urahara said it casually, as if it were just a casual remark.

"That's because I once told a little girl that I would show her how the real Grim Reaper fights. If it were any other time, I probably would have surrendered yesterday, but only yesterday, I didn't want to, and couldn't, do that."

Higashino Shuichi gently closed his eyes, his thoughts seemingly returning to a certain day and a certain battlefield.

“Even though she knew she was no match for that vacant creature, she still dared to stab it. How could I be afraid? No matter the outcome, I will not be cowardly in front of her.”

Higashino Shuichi stated this in a calm tone, but Urahara Kisuke could sense the seriousness in his voice.

Soi Fong, who was secretly eavesdropping at the door, also heard it.

"So it turns out that Lord Shuichi's success is because of me."

Little Soi Fong's tiny hands gripped the hem of her clothes tightly.

As for Shuichi Higashino, although this wasn't his original intention, he did choose to fight Yoruichi Shihouin in the end because Soi Fon was there. Otherwise, after he used the Black Coffin technique to lock Yoruichi Shihouin inside, he could have already admitted defeat.

Because by then, he had basically already shown all the strength he needed to demonstrate. At that point in time, his performance was definitely among the best of all active vice-captain level Shinigami.

"Pfft! If that's the case, you're really not suitable to come to our Second Division. Otherwise, with your strong sense of responsibility, Shuichi, you'd be in big trouble in our Second Division!"

Suddenly, Kisuke Urahara burst out laughing, instantly easing the somewhat serious atmosphere.

"Heh~" It has to be said that Higashino Shuichi was indeed amused by Urahara Kisuke's inexplicable turn of events. "Indeed, so I think I'm probably more suited to staying in the Fourth Division, watching those injured Shinigami recover completely under my hands, that would be the most gratifying thing!"

Then, the two chatted about everyday topics until Urahara Kisuke left about half an hour later, without discussing anything substantial sexual.

But is that really the case?

Standing at the door, watching Kisuke Urahara's departing figure, Shuichi Higashino knew that Urahara had already asked almost everything he wanted to know in the first few questions, and the rest of the conversation was just filler.

Whether Higashino Shuichi's answer would satisfy Urahara Kisuke, or help Higashino Shuichi achieve his original goal, Higashino Shuichi himself didn't know, and probably only Urahara Kisuke himself knew the answer to this question.

(End of this chapter)