@xcptn10 said:
As much as Ichigo is the hero of the story, to Isshin Urahara will forever be EXTREMELY special. If it wasn't for him, Masaki wouldn't have survived, Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu would have never been born. Yes, a lot of tragedy was involved living with Masaki but he'd not want to miss a single minute of it. That's why to Isshin the real hero of the story is Urahara.
You know, for basically making all of Bleach possible by facilitating the conception of Ichigo, he’s my hero, too. They say it takes a village, but really it took one foolhardy shinigami, one enlightened Quincy, the woman they were both trying to save, and a mad scientist to produce our shōnen protagonist. I have… so many thoughts around Urahara’s involvement with Masaki, the Ishidas, and the Shiba… So buckle up for the meta I know you didn’t ask for! 😅😅😅
Let’s start with Masaki, and the infection she sustained from White’s attack:
…and how by simply body-checking her on the sidewalk, Urahara instantly knew what was up.
Benihime’s reiatsu analysis at work there. In any case, I’m sure he did that on purpose. He had to walk between Masaki and her friend to bump into her! And is it his habit to take walks that cross paths with schoolgirls on their way home? …Actually, I think he’s been keeping tabs on all the Quincy in town since he got there. After all, tailing Quincies would eventually lead him to all the secret stashes; he had to be getting his light arrows from somewhere.
I mean, I love that he just knows where these things are kept…
Anyway! There’s no way he would not have noticed the White vs. Isshin and Masaki main event the previous night. So – perhaps this was his way of checking up – and the alarm on his face after assessing her condition tells me that he was not expecting a Hollow infection — and almost certainly knows immediately who is behind it. So: next thing we know, he just happens to be in the right place at the right time with a ready solution.
So that happens, and everyone is eternally grateful, and…
Hold up. Why did he want to save Masaki? He didn’t have a relationship with her, or Ryuuken, or Isshin before this event. I’ve wondered at times if it was his plan to create a Human-Quincy-Shinigami-Hollow hybrid, but he can’t truly have predicted that outcome. Even knowing that Shiba are screw the rules and follow your heart people, he seemed legitimately surprised that Isshin accepted the challenge so readily.
But we know that he’s a win-win kind of guy. Never pass up an opportunity to win friends and influence people, right? Save a damsel in distress? Win! Make a Shiba and an Ishida grateful? Win! Foil Aizen’s attempt at Hollowfication? Win! Opportunity for some amazing potential research? Win! Any help he offers can always prove helpful to him later. That’s just how he rolls.
Every little bit helps—
