The mask is the virtual 'spiritual core', in other words, it is the source of power.
After taking off the mask, you can weaken the virtual's power, and if you are lucky, you can awaken 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 have a good 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 one meter apart from each other, but their eyes failed to reflect each other, and it seemed they could only see a blank space.
"I...what happened?"
In the blank space, Inoue Hao looked at his hands in confusion.
For some reason, at this moment, his hands were covered in blood.
"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, "Well, then you can 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 on earth 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, and 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 Orihime Inoue, who was only three years old, away from home and lived a life of dependence on each other.
He died in the spring when he was 27 years old. After his death, Inoue Orihime would pray for him every day, and he felt redeemed by this.
Until now, 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 said nothing.
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 voice 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 like this.
"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."
Pictures 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 to him, 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, so I 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 and the color is beautiful. It's like the sun and feels very warm."
He saw that he once touched Orihime's head and praised her beautiful hair.
He remembered this scene. He also knew that not long 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 this question, but still no one answered him.
"I'm sorry...brother..."
Orihime's voice continued to speak.
Hao Inoue knelt down helplessly in the void, 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 finished her meal in silence without saying a word, and then fell asleep facing the wall.
And he never returned to that home.
"Why...does it have to be that day?"
Two voices asked the same question, overlapping each other across different time and space. The voices were full of 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 if 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 clasped 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 never 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 Inoue Orihime 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 Hollow's hands.
But now it seems like it’s not the time to take action...
They didn't know why, but they felt unspeakable sadness.
This Kyon is crying. And the same goes for Orihime Inoue, who is opposite Kyon.
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 Inoue Orihime 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 state.
The same situation applies to Inoue Hao who became a Hollow.
It kept struggling in place, its eyes were dull, and it lacked the madness and murderous intent 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, as the two looked at each other in surprise, 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 before 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 Kurosaki Ichigo while pinching his arm.
She had never heard of such a situation.
A soul that has become a Hollow can 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 seems 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 she seemed to hear the call from her brother at this moment.
No, it’s not like I heard it. 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 he will disappear at any time.
"Orihime, brother is going out..."
He smiled and let go of his sister's hand.
"Um……"
Inoue Orihime wiped away the tears from her eyes, and a smile as gentle and bright as the sun appeared on her face.
It's time to say goodbye.
She has already decided to grow up.
"Go slowly, brother... Have a good journey..."
Finally, when the shadow completely disappeared, tears streaked down the cheek that kept the smile.
"..."
The whole room fell into silence once again.
Kuchiki Rukia and Kurosaki Ichigo looked at each other.
They had no idea what was going on.
In their eyes, it seemed that it was the bond between the two brothers that allowed Inoue Hao to defeat his "hollow" self and regain himself.