"Yo, isn't this Ichigo? What a coincidence."
After landing and seeing Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia staring at him in a daze, Asakura Yoh waved with his free hand.
"Coincidence my foot! How... how did you...?"
Kurosaki Ichigo pointed at Inoue Sora, who was struggling to escape from Asakura Yoh's palm, and stammered for a long time without being able to get a full sentence out.
Asakura Yoh chuckled and suddenly exerted force with his right hand, slamming Inoue Sora's large, middle-parted head directly into the ground.
"Him? He's Inoue's brother," Asakura Yoh said plainly.
"No! I'm asking how you... wait? Who did you just say he was?"
Kurosaki Ichigo's mind, which wasn't very sharp to begin with, became even more muddled. He dug at his ear, wondering if he was hallucinating; he didn't yet know that Hollows were actually the fallen souls of humans.
But while Ichigo was clueless, Rukia grasped the situation immediately.
Inoue Sora struggled mightily before finally pulling his head out of the ground. The bone mask on his face had mostly shattered, leaving only the portion over his right eye.
"A... human face?"
This scene was just as shocking to Kurosaki Ichigo as the first time he had ever seen a Hollow.
"Don't be surprised, Ichigo..." Kuchiki Rukia said heavily, as if a bad memory had been triggered.
"The truth is, all Hollows were originally just ordinary human souls."
"Wha... what! Ordinary people! But you never told me that!" An agitated Kurosaki Ichigo grabbed Kuchiki Rukia by the collar and lifted her.
"Aren't they monsters? Aren't they things that need to be destroyed!?"
"Yes! But they've become monsters now, so they must be eliminated!"
"They've become... so the ones I killed before were actually..."
"Now is not the time for this! Look out!"
Kurosaki Ichigo turned around at the warning, only to see a massive snake tail swinging toward him. Already in a state of mental chaos, he only had time to block with his blade. The hard scales on the tail ground against his Zanpakuto, sending sparks flying everywhere. Catching the full brunt of that immense power, Kurosaki Ichigo was sent hurtling backward.
"Ichigo!"
Kuchiki Rukia wanted to help, but feeling the meager amount of Reiryoku left in her, she knew that at most she could only manage a low-level Kido like Byakurai, which wouldn't be nearly enough to pierce those thick scales.
"Brother! Asakura-kun! Eh? Why are Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki-san here too?"
"Yoh! Kuchiki? Why are you here as well?"
Inoue Orihime panted as she took in the chaotic scene. Although Arisawa Tatsuki couldn't see Inoue Sora or Kurosaki Ichigo, she could see the cratered road and damaged walls.
Inoue Sora glanced warily at Asakura Yoh, who hadn't made a move yet, before immediately lunging to attack Inoue Orihime. The latter watched her monster-transformed brother charge at her but didn't flinch; her eyes didn't even hold any fear.
'I'm sorry, I didn't realize I had made you feel so lonely, Brother...'
"Masaki-sis (whisper), Spirit Ball! (aloud)"
After confirming that Kurosaki Ichigo hadn't yet recovered from the previous blow, Asakura Yoh boldly called forth the soul of Kurosaki Masaki.
The soul of a mature woman with long orange hair appeared behind Asakura Yoh, then condensed into an energy body on his right palm, forming an orb with a visible expression.
"Spirit Integration!"
Asakura Yoh gripped the energy orb and slammed it into his chest. In an instant, his entire expression shifted.
His lazy, casual look was replaced by a smile as warm as spring, though it soon turned stern.
'He... he shoved another soul into his own body?!'
Kuchiki Rukia had lost track of how many times she'd been shocked by this man named Asakura Yoh. Before, she could write off his actions as those of a unique human, but now she was genuinely doubting if he was even human at all.
'How can two souls coexist in one body? Even if it's possible, what kind of madman would actually do such a thing?'
An orange arrow of energy streaked past Inoue Sora, forcing him to halt his charge toward Inoue Orihime.
"I'm a little angry now. How dare you hurt our little Ichigo? It seems I'll have to give you a bit of a punishment."
'Our... little Ichigo?'
"Pfft—!"
Kuchiki Rukia couldn't help herself and burst out laughing. At that moment, Kurosaki Ichigo crawled out of the rubble and happened to hear what 'Asakura Yoh' had said.
His angry expression instantly changed color, turning pale and then green. Finally, he shuddered, rubbing at the goosebumps that had broken out on his arms.
Inoue Orihime looked at Asakura Yoh with a red face and then at Kurosaki Ichigo, her eyes spinning as her brain overheated.
'Are Kurosaki-kun and Asakura-kun... in that kind of relationship?!'
Arisawa Tatsuki had the most bewildered expression of all. From her perspective, those words were spoken by Asakura Yoh toward Kuchiki Rukia's general direction. The sheer amount of implication was far beyond what a girl her age could process.
"It's okay, Ichigo. From my research, the Living World is very open-minded about these things nowadays, so don't be so..." Rukia patted Ichigo's trembling back, struggling to suppress her laughter.
She could already guess the truth: those words hadn't come from Asakura Yoh, but from the soul he'd just integrated into his chest. Still, that didn't stop her from teasing the usually brash Kurosaki Ichigo.
'But if that's the case, who was that female soul? What's her connection to Ichigo?'
"Stop talking nonsense! What the hell... what the hell is going on..." Kurosaki Ichigo jumped like a cat with its tail stepped on. He then crouched down and buried his head in his hands, completely trying to escape reality.
'Help, my best friend of ten years seems to have weird feelings for me. What do I do? Waiting online, urgent!'
"Hey, Sis, don't say unnecessary things! People will misunderstand!"
Asakura Yoh's face suddenly contorted into a look of horror, resembling a major case of split personality. His tone was frantic, worlds apart from the mature voice from a moment ago.
"Ah, sorry, sorry, Yoh-chan. I couldn't help myself, tee-hee!"
Asakura Yoh appeared to be apologizing to himself, even tapping his head and tilting it in a cute manner.
"Blegh—!" x2
Kurosaki Ichigo and Arisawa Tatsuki both gagged simultaneously.
"That's why I told you not to say anything extra!"