Fullbring was the power of love. It drew out as much power as possible from an object one deeply cherished.
Ichigo Kurosaki tightened his grip on the silver cross in his hand.
That was easy enough to say, but until now, his mother's memento had always guided him when he unleashed his power. Now he was supposed to draw out the soul of the Quincy Cross and control it. How could he possibly do that on command...?
"Glory!" Yasutora Sado pulled up his sleeve. "My skin is the medium through which I manifest my Fullbring. The first time I used Brazo Derecho del Gigante, my heart was filled with pride!"
As Ichigo Kurosaki dodged the piggy plushie's attacks, he considered Yasutora Sado's words.
Pride...
Did he need to fill his own heart with glory as well?
"Because of my mixed heritage, my skin is different. It caused me plenty of trouble, but I never stopped taking pride in it... because of my grandfather! Whenever I look at my skin, I feel the pride my grandfather taught me!" Yasutora Sado called out. "That pride gives me strength! What has kept you fighting all this time? Why do you want power? What exactly are you holding so tightly in your hand...? What do you feel from it, Ichigo?"
Ichigo Kurosaki remembered something his father had told him when he was very young.
["The name Ichigo means... someone who will always protect something."]
Back then, his only wish had been to protect his mother.
But... his mother had left him forever.
Ichigo Kurosaki had failed to protect her.
Yet his mother's power had always been protecting him.
From the moment Ichigo Kurosaki was born, Isshin Kurosaki's Shinigami Power and Masaki Kurosaki's Quincy Power had suppressed the Hollow Power within him, shielding his mind from its influence.
"Thank you for always protecting me..." Ichigo Kurosaki's fingers tightened around the cross. "Please let me... protect you too."
His family's protection had allowed Ichigo Kurosaki to grow up safe and healthy.
Now that he had grown up, he wanted to protect them in return.
That was why he had fought all this time. That was why he wanted power.
For the love of his family, which he could feel within the object he held. The love that had protected him until now.
Boom!
The piggy plushie slammed its fist down, sending dust billowing through the air.
Within the swirling cloud, the outline of something enormous gradually took shape.
Yasutora Sado's eyes widened. "Is that Ichigo's... Fullbring?"
"That's..." Riruka Dokugamine was worried about Ichigo Kurosaki, but her poor eyesight kept her from seeing clearly. "What is it?"
"Just as I expected. Someone who has survived countless battles can grasp Fullbring far more quickly than an ordinary person." Kūgo Ginjō stared into the slowly dispersing dust. "You only lost your power to fight. You didn't lose your memories of fighting. Once you become familiar with the power available to you, you'll be able to master Fullbring."
When the dust finally settled, everyone could clearly see the object standing between Ichigo Kurosaki and the piggy plushie.
It was a broad, heavy, silver-white cross nearly as tall as a person. Its longer lower end was connected to a black cylindrical handle, which Ichigo Kurosaki now held tightly in his hand.
"The power of Fullbring comes from Hollow Power." Kūgo Ginjō stared at the cross in Ichigo Kurosaki's hands. "As a Quincy who exists to destroy Hollows, you're more familiar with that power than most."
"Hah..." Ichigo Kurosaki slowly exhaled, feeling the connection between himself and the enormous weapon in his hands.
The helplessness he had felt while fighting unarmed was finally gone.
With a single sweep of his arm, he sent the piggy plushie flying.
With that, the battle was over...
"Aaaaaaah!!!"
The piggy plushie suddenly screamed. Its bloated body swelled even further as thick muscles bulged beneath its surface.
"Hey!" Realizing what had happened, Riruka Dokugamine spun around and glared at Giriko Kutsuzawa. "What's going on? What did you do to it?"
"Oh my..." Giriko Kutsuzawa set down the teapot in his hand. "You were the one who asked me to place a time limit on it, were you not?"
"I told you to set a safety limit so that if the fight wasn't over after fifteen minutes, he'd be released immediately!" Riruka Dokugamine glared at Giriko Kutsuzawa. "What is that disgusting thing supposed to be?!"
"It appears our definitions of safety differ slightly. In my view, safety does not mean escaping from battle. It means possessing the strength to end it." Giriko Kutsuzawa explained at an unhurried pace. "Therefore, the condition I established was that any battle still unresolved after fifteen minutes would escalate, helping Ichigo-san master Fullbring more quickly."
Riruka Dokugamine's expression darkened. "You bastard..."
"Riruka!" Yasutora Sado called out. "Forget about him for now. We need to get Ichigo out of the box immediately!"
"I cannot allow that," Giriko Kutsuzawa said, stopping her. "The box has also been placed under a timer. If the living creatures inside survive for thirty minutes, they will be allowed to return to the outside world."
Riruka Dokugamine frowned. "What kind of ridiculous condition is that...?"
"That is the safety limit as you understand it," Giriko Kutsuzawa added. "In any case, releasing Ichigo-san now would violate the condition. If that happened, we would incur the wrath of the [God of the World]."
Yasutora Sado looked confused. "Wrath?"
"Come to think of it, this is the first time I have explained it to you, isn't it?" Giriko Kutsuzawa stood with his hands behind his back, looking like a courteous waiter. "If a timer I have set suffers a [condition violation], every target affected by that timer will be completely consumed by the Fire of Time."
Sweat appeared on Yasutora Sado's forehead. "You're bluffing... right?"
Giriko Kutsuzawa's gaze was cold. "Believe whatever you wish."
"He isn't bluffing," Riruka Dokugamine said, clearly remembering something unpleasant. "I've seen it happen plenty of times..."
"To ensure you understand, I will repeat myself." Giriko Kutsuzawa continued, "If anyone inside the dollhouse is released before the remaining fifteen minutes have passed, both combatants inside will be consumed by the Fire of Time, along with the dollhouse itself."
Giriko Kutsuzawa raised the golden pocket watch in his hand.
"This is my Fullbring, [Time Tells No Lies]."
Yasutora Sado clenched his fists. "Cancel it!"
"Once Time Tells No Lies has been activated, even its user cannot cancel it. If I set the condition incorrectly, death will follow at once." Giriko Kutsuzawa spoke of the terrifying consequence with perfect calm. "Do not act rashly. Such is the horror of meddling with the power of time."
"So... all I have to do is end the fight, right?" Ichigo Kurosaki called from inside the box. "That sounds pretty simple."
"You idiot!" Riruka Dokugamine shouted anxiously. "You only just learned Fullbring. An enemy like that..."
"[I can take care of it in a flash]." Sensing Riruka Dokugamine's concern, Ichigo Kurosaki smiled and looked up at her. "You're the one who said that."
"I was talking about how strong it was before! Now it's... Look out!"
Riruka Dokugamine saw the muscular piggy plushie lunging toward Ichigo Kurosaki.
"Nothing's changed."
Ichigo Kurosaki twisted his body, swinging the enormous silver cross and slamming it into the muscular piggy plushie's chest.
Bang!
The muscular piggy plushie staggered back a step, then wrapped both arms around the silver cross.
"That's not something you should be hugging."
Ichigo Kurosaki gripped the handle tightly with both hands.
"Getsuga... Jūjishō!"
An ominous red glow spread across the cross. In the next instant, a blood-red cross erupted from it and struck the muscular piggy plushie squarely in the chest, blasting it backward and sending it crashing heavily to the ground.
Its swollen body rapidly deflated, and the piggy plushie returned to its original size.
Giriko Kutsuzawa nodded. "Oh, its return to normal indicates that the timer's condition has been fulfilled. Ichigo-san truly has won the battle using Fullbring."
Ichigo Kurosaki looked up. "So you can let me out now, right?"
"I know!" Riruka Dokugamine rolled up a piece of paper. "Honestly, you're such a pain..."
Turning her back to Ichigo Kurosaki, Riruka Dokugamine brought the paper twist to her nose. She worked at it for a moment until she felt the urge, then quickly spun around to face him.
"Achoo!"
A loud sneeze rang out.
Ichigo Kurosaki emerged from the dollhouse covered in sticky fluid. A middle-aged man wearing a gold chain also came out, having been trapped inside the piggy plushie.
"Well?" Riruka Dokugamine planted her hands proudly on her hips. "One sneeze from me is all it takes to release you."
"You don't have to tell me. I can see I'm completely soaked!" Ichigo Kurosaki tugged at his clothes. "And there was actually a person trapped inside that thing?"
"What else did you think?" Riruka Dokugamine shot back. "How could the doll move on its own if there wasn't anyone inside? Use some common sense."
"I don't even know what counts as common sense anymore..."
The weight in Ichigo Kurosaki's hand suddenly vanished as the enormous cross reverted to the form of a Quincy Cross.
"And here I was wondering how to put it away..."
"You'll get used to things like that eventually." Riruka Dokugamine folded her arms. "All right, you can go home now."
Ichigo Kurosaki blinked. "Huh? Aren't I supposed to stay here and keep training?"
"Huh?" Riruka Dokugamine snorted. "Why would I let a disgusting guy like you hang around here all day? Are you stupid? Stu-pid!"
Ichigo Kurosaki fell silent.
"Using a physical body to manipulate Soul Power through Fullbring places a burden on you greater than you can perceive. That was the purpose of the physical training you underwent earlier," Kūgo Ginjō explained. "If you use it too frequently, your body could suddenly collapse without warning. You need to balance training with proper rest."
"...I see."
"Don't rush. Once your body has recovered, I'll call you back for the next stage of training," Kūgo Ginjō reassured him. "Just be patient a little longer."
"The next stage?" Ichigo Kurosaki looked down at his hand. "Haven't I already mastered Fullbring?"
"You've learned how to use Fullbring, but you haven't mastered your own Fullbring," Kūgo Ginjō explained. "First, you use an object close to you as a medium and learn to draw on the soul within matter. Then you apply that ability to other objects. After gaining a thorough understanding of it, you return that refined ability to your original medium and bring forth a power unique to you. Only then will your Fullbring be truly complete."
Ichigo Kurosaki nodded. "Once that happens, I'll be able to help you, right?"
"Yeah..." Kūgo Ginjō chuckled softly. "That's right."
After finishing his training, Ichigo Kurosaki left with Yasutora Sado and headed home.
"It looks like... you've already made some progress."
A figure emerged from the shadows beside the road.
"Muten!" Ichigo Kurosaki called out. "Sorry for worrying you."
"I'm not the only one who was worried, and I'm not even the one who worried the most." Muten Natsu approached him. "May I see it?"
"Of course."
Ichigo Kurosaki clenched his hand, and the enormous silver cross struck the ground.
Muten Natsu reached out and touched it, absorbing the Reishi leaking from the weapon as he analyzed it.
"Previously, the structure was Quincy Power, Shinigami Power, and Hollow Power. When your Quincy Power was strong enough, it could suppress both your Shinigami Power and Hollow Power while still providing enough strength for combat. But as your Quincy Power was depleted, what remained could only maintain that suppression, leaving no excess power for fighting."
"Now, the structure is Hollow Power, Shinigami Power, Quincy Power, Shinigami Power, and Hollow Power. By using Shinigami Power as a buffer, you can draw directly on Hollow Power. That allows your existing Quincy Power to continue maintaining the seal while still giving you the ability to fight."
"Oh..." Ichigo Kurosaki dismissed the cross. "So it's like turning a pizza into a sandwich?"
"...You understood it more clearly than I explained it."
Muten Natsu turned toward Yasutora Sado.
"I met Tsukishima earlier. To be honest, he didn't make a very good first impression. What do you think of them?"
"They've helped me a lot..." Yasutora Sado paused. "I want to trust them."
But he could not trust them completely.
Muten Natsu understood what Yasutora Sado had left unsaid.
"I had someone investigate Fullbring and Fullbringers, but they found nothing. Ichigo, Urahara already has a few ideas about your power, but he needs time. Investigating Fullbring and Fullbringers will also take time."
"I understand what you're saying, but I want to regain my power as quickly as possible. I can't stop now." Ichigo Kurosaki's gaze remained firm. "I'll stay on guard. If anything happens, I'll make sure to..."
"Contact me immediately," Muten Natsu said. "I'll help you, just as you helped me before."
"...Right." Ichigo Kurosaki nodded firmly. "It's a promise."
Muten Natsu watched the two of them walk away, then raised the Denreishinki in front of him.
An electronic message from Nayura Amakado was displayed on its screen.
[As of now, the Daireishokairō contains no records whatsoever concerning Fullbring or Fullbringers.]