Wednesday.

Silas arose from his sleep and prepared himself accordingly. There were a few things he confirmed after using Zangetsu for the first time. One was that his thoughts were solely his own. Even though the manifestation and a Hollow shared a body with him, his soul was his own. The second was that the manifestation was willing to let Silas become a Soul Reaper. If he had said something wrong, he might have been killed.

Yhwach's manifestation is a result of Ichigo having been born from Masaki, a pure-blood Quincy. These Quincy have a part of Yhwach's soul inside of them, hence why the manifestation looks like Yhwach. As long as Silas doesn't provoke it and proves to himself that he can hone the powers of a Soul Reaper, he should be safe for now.

• • •

At school, Ichigo's former friends stopped talking to him. Keigo, who was normally the ecstatic type, began giving Silas the same treatment each time they passed one another. Of course, Silas never bothered to acknowledge it. As for Tatsuki, Orihime begged her not to bother him after his artificial soul explained his mother's past. Tatsuki understood Ichigo's past better than anyone, so she obliged to her request.

The first desk Silas walked towards was Uryū's. He was the person responsible for having brought upon those aforementioned Hollows to Karakura Town.

Class hadn't started yet, making it the perfect opportunity to speak to him now. "There's something I'd like to ask you."

"Whatever you want to say, it can wait," Uryū responded with uninterest.

That's when Silas came close to his ears and whispered the word "Quincy". This alone made Uryū's eyes widen. Without saying any more, Silas walked out of the classroom. Uryū got up to follow right behind him. A few people watched as the two left the room.

"Think Ichigo's going to confess to him?" Tatsuki teased. Orihime's face turned red at the thought.

In the men's bathroom, Silas and Uryū were standing just a few feet apart. It was safer here as opposed to going outside on the rooftop. In a serious tone, Uryū asked, "What is it that you want, Ichigo Kurosaki?"

"I have a request... I'd like you to slay Hollows for me."

"What do you know about Hollows?"

"I'm sure you've heard the rumour about how I can see spirits, right?"

Uryū was speechless for a second. But he wasn't convinced, so he asked, "How did you know I was a Quincy?"

"Thanks for confirming my suspicions."

Adjusting his glasses, Uryū looked down in a comical fashion, embarrassed that he fell for such a trick. He then quickly composed himself and inquired about what Silas knew about Quincies. So Silas gradually explained the concept of spiritual powers.

The moment he understood that Uryū wasn't questioning the existence of Soul Reapers, he knew that suppressing his powers had worked. He was standing right in front of someone with keen senses, yet he couldn't even tell that Silas was a Soul Reaper!

"I'm interested to know what sort of Hollows you'd like me to destroy."

Silas wasn't ready to reveal that information until he was sure Uryū would say yes. He had to choose his words very carefully since the manifestation was always listening.

"Uryū, Karakura town needs a protector, someone who's not a Soul Reaper... Your grandfather, Sōken, died from a Hollow."

"How did you—"

"I looked it up," Silas interrupted the surprised Uryū. "You and I aren't so different. My mother died protecting me from a Hollow when I was younger. What this town needs is a hero to keep tragic events like that from happening."

Silas was heavily implying that Uryū should be that hero. Before Uryū could say another word, Silas turned around to leave, stating that he didn't have to give him an answer straightaway. This caused Uryū to say, "Wait, Ichigo... What else do you know about Quincies?"

"Other than you guys are more effective than Soul Reapers, that's all I can share."

At those words, he left the men's bathroom. Silas couldn't help but smirk. Not only was he sure his tactics at manipulating Uryū would work, he also knew the manifestation would be keen on his notions about preferring Quincies over Soul Reapers.

The same day that he had defeated Acidwire, he had practiced suppressing his Soul Reaper powers, having skipped two more school days to do so. The results proved to be effective on his third day of training. Mixing in Ichigo's potential and Silas's control over his spiritual powers, he had more than just succeeded; he had been able to avert the attention of a Quincy. This was the reason he had waited so long to approach Uryū. People like him could detect different races.

In class, it took Uryū ten extra minutes to return after Silas. The two hadn't once looked at one another until the day ended. Just as Silas was about to walk out, Uryū stopped him. Silas couldn't hardly contain his smile, knowing full well what Uryū was going to say.

"I'll do it."

• • •

The same night, he returned home after having shared his contact information with the Quincy. Ichigo was also a Quincy, giving him the ability to use a Quincy's powers. However, those powers lied dormant for Silas to awaken. In order to unlock them quickly, he needed the spiritual powers of a pure-blooded Quincy, something Uryū was not.

Silas, on the other hand, would be willing to test out the theory of whether Uryū's regular Quincy spiritual powers could aid in making him stronger. Whether it could or couldn't, he had a multitude of ways to help strengthen his prowess. And that's because Ichigo's body allowed for it. As long as he understood this world's governing laws on how to correctly increase one's strength, he was the deadliest adversary.

Silas sat on his chair and rested his chin on his hand. He was considering if forming an early bond with Uryū this early was wise. In Ichigo's story, the two would only become close after a game of who could slay the most Hollows. During that incursion, Aizen sent a strong Hollow known as a Menos Grande to Karakura Town. Even Chad managed to awaken their dormant spiritual powers known as his Fullbring.

Perhaps the same thing might happen; perhaps not. All that mattered to Silas's current plans was Rukia.

'Less than two months,' he thought. 'In less than two months, Rukia should arrive.' Alongside her, a Hollow would attack Ichigo's family the same night. Assuming Aizen hadn't changed his plans, the story would follow exactly that. But if things had indeed changed, Silas would have to expedite his schemes.