Rindo Yu approached silently, his hand on his sword, his spiritual pressure shaking the atmosphere, making him appear exceptionally tall. Combined with his expressionless face, he resembled the humanoid form of a Gillians, born from the consumption of tens of thousands of souls.
"Hey! Don't leave me out!"
Ichigo grumbled, his sword on his shoulder.
"I'm not leaving you out, it's just that…"
Shimiya Takeru glanced at him.
"There are so many Hollows, and while they look different, their target is always high-density souls. Besides us, Karakura Town must have easier prey, and among them, there might be people you care about. I figured you wouldn't be able to ignore it, so I didn't count you in."
"…Ah."
Ichigo took a deep breath.
"You're right. Well then… see you later."
"Get lost."
Shimiya Takeru waved his hand without looking back. Ichigo's face darkened, and then he disappeared with a Shunpo.
"It's not good to leave the team without consulting me, the leader."
Yūshirō also landed lightly on the iron railing.
"So, I'll trouble you to explain it properly to the Spirit Arts Academy later. That way, even if you, as the leader, want to leave the team to do something, or like Brother Kurosaki, want to go find someone, I'll pretend not to see it."
"…You, you're really impressive. This aura reminds me a lot of a relative of mine… Alright, I agree. I'll handle things here. You all go fight in other places to avoid concentrating high-density spiritual pressure, which would attract all the Hollows to one spot and lead to casualties among the students, who are far inferior to you."
Yūshirō stared at Shimiya Takeru with a curious look for a moment, then said cheerfully.
Shimiya Takeru nodded slightly, then pushed off the ground, shooting into the night sky like an arrow from a bowstring.
Hachihara and Rindo Yu followed without hesitation.
…
Ichigo's home was in Minamikawase, and getting there from where he landed via the Dangai would require almost crossing the entire Karakura Town. Even so, he showed no impatience, fully unleashing his Shunpo to race through the sky, just to reach Kurosaki Hospital a step sooner.
"Please don't let anything happen! Dad, Karin, Yuzu…"
His barely concealed spiritual pressure attracted a large number of Hollows.
The dull, ominous roars that drilled into his ears made Ichigo even more agitated.
"Get out of my way! Getsuga… Tensho!"
Unlike normal Shinigami, Ichigo's Shikai possessed two forms with different fighting styles and abilities. In its sword form, its ability was to inject spiritual pressure into the blade, making the slash enormous and cutting through the sky like a Cero.
However, while this move was extremely powerful, it only cleared the Hollows in front of him.
The path was quickly blocked again.
Seeing this, Ichigo immediately switched to his bow form, unleashing a dense rain of arrows to sweep away the relentlessly attacking Hollow horde.
"This is more convenient, like an insecticide. In comparison, the sword form is better suited for humanoid opponents… Shimiya was right again."
Recalling a certain casual conversation, Ichigo couldn't help but mutter.
He didn't notice that on the overpass below, a spectacled man in white stopped running, staring in astonishment at him sweeping away the Hollows.
It was Ishida Uryū.
"…A Shinigami, actually using a bow to kill Hollows…"
No.
More precisely, a Shinigami was fighting in the manner of a Quincy.
And doing it so well.
Was this right?
Was this reasonable?
Was this… the goal his grandfather had strived for?
"Get out of here! You monsters! Don't come any closer!"
Kurosaki Hospital's building was severely damaged.
Karin held a baseball bat, standing in front of Yuzu and her father, who lay on the ground, wildly swinging it at the grotesque monsters, trying to scare them away. But the spiritual power emanating from her was too tempting, like a campfire in the dark, attracting more than just one Hollow.
Therefore… the first Hollows to arrive here would show no mercy, nor would they give up their within reach prey.
"Ichigo… I'm sorry, I couldn't protect Yuzu and Dad in your place…"
Watching the monster raise its terrifying claws, Karin despaired.
After her brother's death, her spiritual power began to grow continuously. She could see more souls and felt she could do more.
Therefore, as the eldest child in the family at the time, she swore to Ichigo's soul at his grave that she would protect her family and never again witness a loved one leave her.
However, this continuously growing spiritual power had not yet transformed into a power to protect everything; instead, it had brought misfortune upon herself and her family.
In fact, the moment she realized she was attracting more of the monsters' attention, Karin felt a pain deeper than despair.
"What are you talking about? When did it become your turn to replace me?"
Swish!
The sharp blade, imbued with anger, struck down faster than the claws.
Through the bisected body of the Hollow.
A dark figure stood silently, its back to the moonlight streaming in from outside the house.
Combined with Karin, who was sitting on the ground in a daze.
It was like a famous painting.
A sword-wielding warrior defeats evil spirits, and an undisputed hero appears.
If this hero is also a lost and found loved one, then the feeling at this moment must transcend happiness, moving towards "bliss."
In fact, Karin did just that.
"Ichigo… you jerk!"
The black-haired girl, eyes red, rushed towards Ichigo, swinging her iron baseball bat at his head.
"Whoa! What are you doing, Karin, that's dangerous!"
Ichigo quickly dodged, but the next moment, an even smaller, or rather, younger girl, as sweet as honey, launched a flying headbutt that knocked him to the ground.
"Ichigo! I missed you so much!"
"Yuzu…"
Ichigo, who had intended to get angry, saw his tearful, wailing sister nestled in his arms, and his gaze involuntarily softened, even filling with guilt. His words of complaint turned into a heavy sigh.
"I'm sorry."
"Is an apology enough for you, you guy! Don't think you can be so arrogant just because you're the older brother. If you're the older brother, then give me…"
Karin dropped the bat, grabbed his collar with one hand, and was about to punch him. Ichigo didn't dodge, but the punch didn't actually land on his face.
Instead, it fell limply from mid-air, along with tears, onto his chest, dampening the collar of his student uniform and bringing a chill to his skin.
"…Just live well, you idiot. Don't make Yuzu and me sad every day…"
"I couldn't sleep at night, and Yuzu unconsciously served you a bowl of rice at dinner. At school, my classmates even specially looked after me and forced me to remember your hateful face! Do you know how much trouble you've caused us?"
"I'm sorry."
Ichigo put down his sword, stretched out his hands, and stroked his sisters' heads, a lonely smile on his face.
"I already said, don't think an apology is enough."
"I can't help it. I also wish I could be as eloquent as that guy, but unfortunately, I can't change this clumsy tongue of mine. Please be a little more lenient with me, seeing as I'm your older brother."
"What kind of older brother asks his younger sisters to be lenient with him?"
Karin mumbled, pouting.
"Ichigo, are you really resurrected? Did the soul-summoning game I learned from my classmates actually work?"
Yuzu raised her face, looking at Ichigo pitifully yet expectantly.
"…You should know that's impossible. And I've already felt your longing, so don't play those games anymore. You might actually summon something unclean!"
Ichigo grumbled, then said in a low voice:
"As for how I came back… it's a bit complicated. I'll explain it to you two later. For now, you two go hide in your room. I'll watch over Dad."
Roar!
The moonlight was sparse, obscured by the massive bodies of the monstrous Hollows.
An ominous shadow fell, and the bloodthirsty gaze behind their masks sent shivers down Karin and Yuzu's spines.
Soon, a figure stood in front of them.
"Hey… it's one thing to interrupt someone's family reunion, but to show such disgusting eyes… there's a limit to being blind. Watch me beat you all down!"
Feeling the greedy desire emanating from the depths of their souls, Ichigo raised his Zanpakuto and pointed it at the Hollows gathering outside the house. His eyes were filled with fury at having his bottom line crossed.
…
Karakura Town, Kitakawase, located on opposite sides of the great river from Minamikawase, where Kurosaki Hospital is situated.
Shimiya Takeru stood at the top of the cross-river bridge. The hundred-meter-high night wind was exceptionally strong, whistling and scattering his black hair like churning dark clouds. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, his gaze calm, yet exuding a murderous aura.
His standard student uniform was worn in a way that gave him the heroic appearance of a Shinigami swordsman, reminiscent of the Shinsengumi.
Click!
The long sword was drawn slightly, revealing only a short section. The moment the cold gleam flashed, hundreds of Hollows, including some with massive bodies, that had rushed from all directions were treated equally… sliced in half with a single strike.
It wasn't the sword that cut through their bodies, but threads of Kido, invisible to the naked eye.
Seven in total.
Seven kills in an instant.
One more strike than the six directions of up, down, left, right, front, and back.
Thus, not only were the attacking Hollows scattered to pieces, but with the extra attack, the remaining individuals were also cleared.
"Yahoohoo…!"
A cheer, a hundred times more enthusiastic than a summer wind, rang out above Shimiya Takeru's head.
Hachihara, like a large golden retriever, charged at a Gillians entering the river. Her ten differently colored fingernails, imbued with powerful spiritual energy, acted like an invisible curse. With her fluid barrage of attacks, she turned the Gillians's head into a honeycomb.
A few highly intelligent Hollows seemed to sense an opportunity and launched a sneak attack, but they encountered a 'mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind'.
[Be born].
Rindo Yu wrote words on his blade, releasing it to transform into a whip-like form. But a closer look would reveal it was made of connected 'katashiro' white papers.
When he wrote the character 'insect' again, all the white papers turned into a swarm of insects that covered the sky, catching all the Hollows attempting to ambush them from behind.
Shimiya Takeru watched this silently, then suddenly, without looking back, raised his hand and aimed at the empty space beside him.
A highly intelligent Hollow that emerged from a rift cried out in terror, "Wait! I'll just…!"
The words "go back" had not even left its mouth when it was pierced through the brow by a blindingly fast, pure white bolt of lightning, falling from the sky and disintegrating into dark spiritual particles upon hitting the ground.
"Hahahahaha, this is so exhilarating! Is that all you've got~ Hachihara-sama hasn't even warmed up yet ☆"
Even the Menos Grande, which were treated with solemn respect in textbooks, were torn to shreds by her. Hachihara truly felt triumphant, believing she had somewhat caught up to those two monsters, Shimiya and Ichigo. For a moment, she couldn't resist pulling out her Soul Pager and taking two selfies with herself and the half-destroyed Menos Grande corpse.
"Huh?"
Hachihara scrolled through the photos and suddenly noticed something amiss. The background of the photo seemed to have something incredible in it.
Her face instantly stiffened, and she mechanically turned her head to confirm the situation.
Then she saw, directly behind the half-destroyed Menos Grande… over a dozen Gillians forming an army, slowly advancing like an endless mountain range.
[You got too excited].
Rindo Yu flew over, his indifferent expression tinged with a faint sense of speechlessness.
"Uh…"