"Hey! What the hell are you doing?!"
Ichigo Kurosaki shouted at Saitō Tsukiyomi. "And what did you do to that little girl?!"
"Wh-What? Why are you unaffected? Did the memory modification spray expire?"
Tsukiyomi muttered in confusion as she raised the spray bottle and sprayed herself.
Instantly, the world spun in her head, leaving her dizzy and disoriented.
She stared blankly at Ichigo.
"Who are you? Can you… see me??"
"Hah?! Are you pretending to have amnesia now?!"
Ichigo snatched the memory modifier from her hand, threw it to the ground, and crushed it underfoot.
"Explain it clearly—what did you do to that little girl?! And what was that monster just now?!"
"What little girl? What monster? Who are you? Why can you see me? And where is this place?"
Tsukiyomi murmured in confusion.
"Uh…"
Ichigo quickly realized that she wasn't pretending at all—and grew even more confused.
Could that spray really erase memories?
Then why was he completely unaffected after smelling it?!
"ROAR—"
Suddenly, another piercing howl echoed from the distance. Ichigo's face went pale as he shouted,
"Hey! Did you hear that?!"
"Huh? Hear what?"
Tsukiyomi's spiritual power was clearly weaker than Ichigo's—she couldn't hear the cry of a high-level Hollow at all.
"It was just like that Hollow's roar earlier! You seriously can't hear it? It was so loud—"
"H-Hollow?!"
Tsukiyomi reacted instantly, drawing her zanpakutō and scanning her surroundings.
"Where?! Where is it?! I can't see anything!"
"Are you stupid?! It's far away—no, it's coming closer! Closer and closer—"
Ichigo looked up at the nearly hundred-meter-tall ape-headed Hollow and muttered in disbelief,
"You've got to be kidding… That thing is huge. Hey, Shinigami… do you see it?"
"…You don't need to say anymore. I see it."
Tsukiyomi gripped her zanpakutō tightly, staring at the towering Hollow.
"C-can you handle it? Shinigami?"
"No… I can't. This Hollow has already evolved into a humanoid form—it's clearly not low-level trash like before."
"Then—"
Cold sweat broke out on Ichigo's forehead as he shouted,
"What are you standing around for?! Run!!"
Before he even finished speaking, Ichigo took off at full speed. Having grown up under Kurosaki Isshin's "loving discipline," his physical strength was exceptional—he covered over a hundred meters in the blink of an eye.
But he quickly realized Tsukiyomi hadn't followed.
Stopping, he shouted back,
"Hey! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"
"I don't want to die—"
Tsukiyomi said softly.
"But I absolutely cannot retreat! Then, in the name of justice—break their formation! Unicorn!"
She chanted quietly.
In an instant, her black Shinigami robes transformed into silver armor, and her zanpakutō became a pure white, jade-like unicorn, rearing up and roaring defiantly at the ape-headed Hollow.
"What… is that? Chakra?!"
Ichigo stared at the gleaming unicorn, murmuring in shock.
"I'll lead the charge!"
Tsukiyomi raised her right hand. Blue spiritual energy condensed instantly, forming a silver greatsword in her grasp. Mounted on the unicorn, she charged straight at the Hollow!
"ROOOAR!!"
The ape-headed Hollow beat its chest with both fists before slamming them into the ground—
BOOM!
The asphalt shattered instantly, debris and dust exploding into the air.
CLANG!
Tsukiyomi's two-meter sword struck the Hollow's thigh, making a sound like hammer on anvil. Its skin was clearly harder than her blade.
Which meant one thing:
Tsukiyomi's spiritual power was far inferior to the Hollow's. That was why she couldn't injure it—and why she hadn't been able to hear its roar earlier.
BANG!
The Hollow kicked out, sending Tsukiyomi and her unicorn flying.
It followed up with a claw swipe to her back, sending her skidding dozens of meters away, leaving a long trail of blood in her wake.
BOOM!
Already weaker in spiritual power, Tsukiyomi was violently injured. Blood poured from her mouth as her spiritual energy fell into chaos—she couldn't even maintain her Shikai.
The white unicorn dissolved into light, reverting back into a Zanpakutō.
"Are you okay, Shinigami?!"
Ichigo rushed to her side and helped her up.
"Stupid… human…"
Tsukiyomi coughed weakly.
"Do I look like I'm… fine…?"
Saitō Tsukiyomi coughed up several mouthfuls of blood. Staring at the ape-headed Hollow advancing toward them, she murmured softly,
"So this is how it is… I really still can't keep up with Big Brother's footsteps…"
"What?" Ichigo asked.
"Heh… Human! Run while you can. Even if I die, I'll fight to the very end!"
Grinding her teeth, Tsukiyomi forced herself upright and reached for her zanpakutō—
"No!"
Ichigo suddenly snatched the zanpakutō away. His expression turned grave as he faced the ape-headed Hollow.
"Compared to running away with my tail between my legs, I prefer fighting!"
"Huh?"
"And my name is Kurosaki Ichigo! Remember it, Shinigami! Now then—"
A fierce light flared in Ichigo's eyes as he shouted,
"In the name of justice—break their formation, Unicorn!"
Nothing happened.
Ichigo froze, stunned.
"…What? Your magic spell doesn't work?"
"…"
Tsukiyomi watched the human's ridiculous behavior coldly and curled her lips.
"Stop messing around, Kurosaki. You should hurry up and run.
I haven't fallen so far as to need a human to save me—and that's not how a zanpakutō is used."
"You're noisy."
Ichigo glanced back at her slightly.
"Didn't I already tell you, Shinigami?"
"Huh?"
"Compared to anything else—I like fighting!! Now then, here I go—"
Ichigo gripped the Zanpakutō with both hands, his entire body tensing to strike.
"Wait! Kurosaki!"
"Hah? Didn't I say I'm going to fight, Shinigami?!"
"No… I just thought of a better way for you to fight a Hollow—"
"What?!"
"It's just that… the consequences are a bit serious."
Tsukiyomi hesitated, thinking:
If I really do this, I'll probably be locked in the Repentance Cell for a hundred years…
"Say it already, Shinigami! That thing is almost here!!"
Ichigo urged as the ape-headed Hollow drew closer and closer.
"…Alright. Then become a Shinigami, Kurosaki."
"Fine!"
"But before that, I want to ask you one thing—"
"You're so annoying! Whatever it is, I agree! Now hurry up and lend me your power, Shinigami!"
Ichigo shouted as the Hollow's massive form loomed directly overhead.
"In that case…"
Tsukiyomi seized the zanpakutō, pointed its tip at Ichigo's chest, and asked one final time,
"Don't regret this, Kurosaki."
"You're really noisy, Shinigami! If you keep dragging this out, our story is going to end right here!"
Ignoring the massive fangs descending above him, Ichigo firmly grasped Tsukiyomi's blade.
"And stop calling me 'Shinigami'! My name is Saitō Tsukiyomi! Now then—"
She thrust the Zanpakutō straight into Ichigo's chest—
BOOM!!!
A colossal surge of blue spiritual energy erupted skyward, violently overturning the nearly hundred-meter-tall ape-headed Hollow, slamming it into the ground. It took a long while before it managed to climb back up.
There stood Kurosaki Ichigo, clad in black Shinigami robes, a red sword sash at his waist, silver armor draped over his body, a two-meter-long golden greatsword resting on his right shoulder.
He gazed indifferently at the ape-headed Hollow and said,
"Yo. Looks like it's my turn now, Hollow."