Synopsis: On a June 4th, at 8:22 PM in Karakura Town, two Soul Reapers are moving through the town. They mention that it's an overcast night, which might be a bad sign since two others have already been killed on rainy evenings. Isshin appears, having overheard them, and thanks them for the tip. When they freak out and ask why he's there, he tries to lie and say he went to take a pee, but they don't buy it. Isshin then tells them that if it starts to rain, they're dismissed, saying it's hard for him to pee if others are watching (the look of concern on his face shows his true meaning however). Elsewhere, a being forms in the moonlight behind some mist.
A little while later at 8:36, still in Karakura Town, Masaki's aunt is asking her what she thinks of the school. Masaki, who is a little spazzy, says she looks forward to the commute, but her aunt says she wanted to know about the school itself. Masaki goes on a spiel about the lunch, which causes her aunt to ask he to stop while she's ahead. She then asks how Masaki's 'holy training sessions' are going, and Masaki sheepishly says she's taking it in baby steps. Her aunt freaks out on her, and asks if she understands how important this is. As the last offspring of the Kurosaki family, a mutual understanding was reached that said offspring (Masaki) would be raised as a fellow Quincy. She starts to say more, when her son Ryuken shows up and asks her to restrain herself as he could hear her voice outside. Ryuken's mother dismisses herself to her room, and says that Ryuken's dinner will be done soon. He asks about his father, and the mother says he's still at the Fifth Field, and she's beginning to wonder if he plans to return at all.
Ryuken turns to Masaki and asks her not to judge his mother too harshly, as she's just taking out her stress and loneliness on her, but Masaki brushes it aside happily, saying that she's fine. She the says she's going to her room as well, but first she tells him that the shrimp-gratin is amazing and if he doesn't want it, she should send it her way. A maid asks if Ryuken is ready to eat, and he says yes. He then tells the maid (who is named Katagiri) that Masaki is well aware of his mother's only reason for allowing her into the Ishida family, despite how aloof she seems - to keep the purity of the Quincy bloodline. The maid can't believe his mother would tell her that, but he says she knows without being told, and that he's fairy certain that 'joy' is the last thing she feels about her and his arranged marriage. Katagiri compliments him for being so thoughtful to think that marriage should be based on love, but he dismisses her praise saying that he only wants Masaki to be happy. She'll have a positive outlook on the future, whereas he only cares about the future of the Quincies.
The scene shifts from a single tear-drop falling from Katagiri's eye, to a lot of rain coming from the sky. Isshin stands atop a building, while the two Soul Reapers from before discuss whether they should really leave now as he told them to do. The lighter-haired one says they can't because they'd get demoted, and says they'll just stay out of his way since surely Isshin can handle anything anyway. Isshin theorizes that if Soul Reapers are being targeted, then either they've got a bullseye on their backs, or it's simply being drawn to their high levels of reiatsu. If that's all it is, he can simplly lure it up by flaring his, which he does so, causing the two others to marvel at his strength. Almost immediately, one of the two Soul Reapers (the lighter haired one) is killed, causing Isshin to realize that it doesn't care about how powerful something is at all. He rushes to the fight, but something lands behind him. He turns around to see a bizarre being that looks to be half Hollow and half man. He asks it what it is, and it simply looks at him.
Thoughts: So apparently, Ichigo is even more closely related to the Ishidas then just both having Quincy blood - they're cousins, kinda, sorta! I have to give some credit here, because while I didn't see this coming at all, my girlfriend called it either last chapter or the one before that. She's better at decoding some of these things than I am apparently, heh.
I'm really not sure what to think about Ryuken's mom at this point. She seems like a real 'female dog', especially considering that she basically took in poor Masaki for breeding stock for her own son...despite them being cousins. You sick, sick woman.
Speaking of Masaki, I'm really liking her as a character. Before this, we never really knew much about her other than that she was really kind, but getting to see her now, she seems to have a particularly Orihime-like vibe to her. This makes me really hopeful for my preferred pairing of Ichigo and Orihime.
Ryuken has definitely changed over the years too. The version we see here is more or less the same personality-wise, but he says his only concern is the future of the Quincy...which is the least of his concerns in the main timeline. It'll be interesting to see what changes for him.
Isshin's joke about wanting to 'drain the lizard' and 'water the plants' was great, though I think the real meat of it was that he wasnt' serious at all, and is just wanting to keep his comrades safe. A pity they didn't listen to him.
Overall, this was a pretty good chapter, and we're getting closer and closer to seeing how Isshin and Masaki became an item, so I'm really excited for the rest of where this goes.
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