Chapter 30: The Kurosaki Family's Fateful Night
Rukia wanted to ask why Soul Society's reinforcements had arrived so quickly.
Takeru also had a question.
"Did soul burial internships get upgraded into live combat drills with Hollows and even Menos Grande as targets? I am fine with it, but for everyone else, isn't this a bit too hardcore?"
Karakura Town, Yumizawa district, in a mixed commercial and residential block.
Dozens of academy students, the internship soul burial squad, had just passed through the Dangai and emerged on the rooftop of an abandoned building. From that height they could see dense flocks of Hollows swarming through the sky and mountain sized Menos Grande slowly lumbering along the streets below, their oppressive Reiatsu washing over everything.
For a moment, many of them forgot how to breathe.
Until Takeru's deadpan comment cut through the silence and everyone turned to him, all at once, speechless.
"Hardcore your head! Stop joking around at a time like this!" someone shouted. "This isn't a soul burial internship at all. Something has obviously gone wrong!"
Swish.
Before the shouting had even faded, Ichigo stepped out of the crowd, grabbed the shark fin shaped Zanpakuto on his back, and swung it down in one fluid motion, cutting apart a Hollow that had just spotted them.
Before anyone could react, another figure flashed into the air and drove a sharp kick into the head of an enormous Hollow as tall as a building, using the rebound to somersault neatly back onto the roof.
"Kurosaki is right. We have a serious situation on our hands," Yushiro said, withdrawing his foot as if nothing had happened. "Everyone stay alert and immediately use your denreishinki to report to Seireitei… not that I think this will stay hidden for long anyway."
His movements were quick and clean and his power obvious, yet there was very little urgency in his tone.
If anything, he sounded annoyed, as if the appearance of this many Hollows had ruined his original schedule.
The two sixth year students beside him snapped to attention at his words and hurriedly pulled out their denreishinki to contact Seireitei.
As for the first years, who should have been overwhelmed with fear, the sudden eruption of spiritual pressure nearby completely overrode their anxiety.
Takeru's clothes rippled as Reiatsu, visible to the naked eye, blazed around him like a living flame.
He took a slow step forward and the students around him instinctively parted to make way.
Clang.
He stepped onto the rusted iron railing at the edge of the rooftop, looking down over everyone below.
"All of you stay here. Do not move from this spot," he said. "Form a defensive line and hold your position. Hachihara, Rindo, we are going to deal with those Menos Grande."
"No, wait…"
"You…"
The two sixth years tried to object, but when Takeru turned his eyes on them, the words died in their throats.
The meaning in his gaze was obvious.
This is not your place to speak.
It was rude, but their bodies, locked in place and drenched in cold sweat under the weight of his Reiatsu, would not let them argue.
In the next instant, one more figure vaulted out, cutting off any further discussion.
"Oh, oh, oh! Menos Grande, right there! Those are the Gillian class ones from the textbooks, aren't they? And so many of them too!"
Hachihara hopped lightly onto the railing, raising a hand to shield her eyes as she looked into the distance, her face bright with excitement.
Her Reiatsu, no weaker than that of a high ranking seated officer, surged outward in sync with her mood.
Tap. Tap.
Rindo Yu approached in silence, one hand resting on his sword hilt. His spiritual pressure shook the air, making him seem taller and larger than he really was. Combined with his unreadable expression, he looked like a Gillian given human form, born from devouring tens of thousands of souls.
"Hey, don't leave me out of this!"
Ichigo grumbled as he hefted his sword up onto his shoulder.
"I am not leaving you out. It is just that…"
Takeru gave him a sidelong glance.
"There are too many Hollows. Their shapes may differ, but they are always drawn to dense spiritual pressure. Besides us, Karakura Town has plenty of easier prey, and among them there might be people you care about. I figured you would not be able to ignore that, so I did not include you."
"…Yeah."
Ichigo took a deep breath.
"You are right. In that case… see you later."
"Then hurry up and get lost."
Takeru flicked his hand dismissively without even turning around. Ichigo's face darkened, and the next second he vanished in a burst of Shunpo.
"It is not very proper to leave your squad without asking permission from the team leader, you know."
Yushiro landed lightly on the railing as well.
"So I will have to trouble you later to explain everything clearly to the Academy," he added. "That way, even if I, as the leader, want to leave the squad to do something, or if someone like Kurosaki wants to go looking for someone, I will pretend I did not see it."
"…You really are something," Yushiro said slowly, studying Takeru. "This aura of yours reminds me a lot of a relative of mine. Alright, I agree. I will take care of things here. The three of you go fight elsewhere so your concentrated spiritual pressure does not draw all the Hollows to one point and cause casualties among the other students, who are far weaker than you."
He watched Takeru with open curiosity for a beat, then grinned.
Takeru nodded, then pushed off from the railing. His body shot into the night sky like an arrow released from a taut bowstring.
Hachihara and Rindo Yu followed close behind without hesitation.
…
The Kurosaki family's home was in Minamikawase. From the place where Ichigo had emerged from the Dangai, he would have to cross almost the entire town to get there.
Even so, he did not feel the slightest impatience.
He poured everything into Shunpo, racing through the sky as fast as he possibly could, just to reach Kurosaki Clinic one heartbeat sooner.
"Please let them be all right… Dad, Karin, Yuzu…"
His barely restrained Reiatsu drew in Hollows like a magnet.
Their dull, guttural roars drilled into his ears, winding him tighter with every passing second.
"Out of my way! Getsuga… Tensho!"
Unlike ordinary Shinigami, Ichigo's Shikai had two different forms, each with its own combat style and ability.
In sword form, he could infuse the blade with spiritual pressure and unleash a slash so massive it tore across the sky like a Cero.
The technique was incredibly powerful, but it only cleared out the Hollows directly in front of him.
The path ahead quickly filled up again.
Seeing that, Ichigo immediately switched to bow form and fired a storm of arrows, sweeping away the Hollow swarm that lunged at him from all directions.
"This is more convenient. It is like spraying for insects. Compared to that, the sword form really is better suited for fighting humanoid enemies… Takeru was right again."
He muttered the last part under his breath, remembering a casual conversation they had once had.
He did not notice that, on the overpass below, a bespectacled man in white had stopped in his tracks and was staring up at him in disbelief.
Ishida Uryu.
"…A Shinigami, using a bow to kill Hollows…"
No.
More precisely, a Shinigami fighting exactly like a Quincy.
And doing it better than most.
Was that acceptable?
Was that reasonable?
Was this… what his grandfather had longed for?
"Stay back! You monsters, stay away!"
Kurosaki Clinic's building was badly damaged.
Karin stood in front of Yuzu and their father, who lay on the floor behind her, clutching a baseball bat as she swung it wildly at the twisted monsters encircling them, trying desperately to scare them away.
But the spiritual energy leaking from her was far too tempting.
Like a campfire burning in a pitch black forest, it did not just fail to repel the predators. It attracted them one after another.
The first Hollows to arrive here had no intention of sparing anyone, and certainly would not let such a feast within arm's reach escape.
"Ichigo… I am sorry. I could not protect Yuzu and Dad for you…"
Watching the monster raise its grotesque claw, Karin sank into despair.
After her brother's death, her spiritual power had begun to grow rapidly. She could see more spirits than before and felt she should be able to do more for them.
As the eldest child in the house, she had stood before Ichigo's grave and sworn to his soul that she would protect their family, that she would never again watch a loved one leave her.
But this continuously growing spiritual power had not yet turned into the strength to protect everything.
Instead, it had dragged misfortune down onto her and the people she wanted to protect.
The moment she realized that her presence was what had drawn so many monsters here, Karin had felt a pain even deeper than despair.
"What are you talking about? Since when was it your job to replace me?"
Swish.
A blade wreathed in fury came down faster than the claw.
Through the bisected body of the Hollow, Karin could see a dark silhouette standing in front of her, back turned, outlined by moonlight pouring in from the shattered window.
With Karin sitting on the floor in stunned silence, the scene looked like something straight out of a famous painting.
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