While Shirou was training with Yoruichi, Ichigo wasn't idle either. He moved through the town in his Shinigami form to kill Hollows while accompanied by Rukia.
"Ichigo, there is one Hollow in that direction."
Rukia guided Ichigo to follow her lead, jumping from roof to roof until she found her target. And then they saw a small Hollow resembling a rabbit.
"Grrr..." The Hollow roared softly like a puppy when it noticed them approaching rapidly.
Ichigo unsheathed Zangetsu from the bandage, rushing ahead without hesitation. With a loud yell echoing throughout the vicinity, he swung his sword downwards intending to slash open foe before him.
Unfortunately...
Thud!
"Ouch!"
He landed incorrectly, face planting into concrete pavement nearby. His forehead turned red instantly.
Meanwhile, Rukia stared blankly at him; unable to comprehend what just transpired right before her eyes.
"Oi... That was anticlimactic..."
"Shut up." Ichigo groaned weakly under breath.
Rukia couldn't help but sigh tiredly in response.
"Ichigo... Can you move properly?" Rukia inquired flatly, rubbing her temple wearily wondering inwardly as to whether she truly chose correctly or not by entrusting Ichigo with this work.
Maybe asking Shirou to manage the Hollow would be better. But then again, she still didn't know much about that mysterious sibling of Ichigo.
"Of course, I can!" He retorted angrily.
Embarrassed slightly by the recent display of incompetence, Ichigo hastily composed himself once more.
He slung his sword on his back, tying it securely with bandages.
Afterwards he concentrated wholeheartedly trying to recall his movements during previous skirmishes. He could do better than that.
"Where is the next one?" He asked impatiently, glancing at a short raven-haired girl beside him.
"That was the last one."
Ichigo's eyebrow twitched slightly in response. He grumbled angrily cursing fate silently under breath.
He really wanted to fight stronger Hollows.
Stronger than those monsters he fought in previous battles.
Then suddenly—
Woooong!
Distorted cry reverberated across the area, signaling arrival of another monstrous beast.
Ichigo and Rukia immediately turned toward the source of disturbance; a neighborhood area in the distance.
"This is bad. If Hollow appears there, an innocent person might get caught up in it." Rukia muttered anxiously. "Ichigo, we should hurry!"
The Substitute Shinigami didn't say anything and ran off toward that direction, leaving behind Rukia who could barely keep pace with him due to lack of power.
"Ichigo, wait!" Rukia shouted after him, "Don't be so reckless! At least wait until I catch up with you!"
"I know! But that thing is dangerous. I will kill it fast, so you don't worry and take your time!" Ichigo yelled over shoulder at her, increasing his speed dramatically in the process.
Somehow, Ichigo had a bad feeling about it. When he got closer to the source of the voice, he began to realize he was going toward a familiar road, one that he visited before.
If he went straight to this path and turned right, there should be a bakery where Inoue was working part-time.
But the sound was a bit to the left of the path, where there's an empty lot. Ichigo could see a large shadowy figure hovering above the lot.
'Is it a Hollow?!' He thought nervously whilst accelerating pace considerably. He needed to hurry and slay this monster quickly before anyone else got involved!
However...
"Wha-"
When he arrived, he saw the Hollow holding someone. The long orange hair, the cute and beautiful face.
'Isn't that Inoue?!'
Ichigo's heart skipped a beat seeing a familiar figure being carried by an enormous creature before him. His eyes widened dramatically in disbelief staring intently at the scene unfolding in front of him.
A massive Hollow closely resembled a fusion of human and snake, it had red skin and black hair. The typical mask and hole in the chest that all Hollows had also present in this monster.
Seeing it, Ichigo immediately unsheathed his sword and rushed toward them.
"Inoue!" He shouted loudly, his voice cracked as worry seeped in.
Raising his sword, he was about to slice the hollow in half, like the others. However, he stopped when he heard Inoue's words.
"Bro...ther..."
His sword changed course, only cutting the hand that held Inoue captive.
"What the-"
The Hollow screamed and roared in pain.
The girl was released and Ichigo quickly grabbed her, jumping away in safety. He looked at her face and his heart sunk when he saw that she cried, her face contorting into sorrow and despair.
Her lips kept whispering, calling the monster that almost ate her as brother.
'What? What did she mean by that?' He wondered, confused by everything happening around him at once.
He glanced at Hollow standing before him and suddenly realization dawned upon him.
'It's her brother.'
"Give her back!" The hollow growled, his voice was deep and raspy.
'What should I do? If I fight here, she will know my identity. But if I run with her, then this monster will keep rampaging and kill people.'
Ichigo's head throbbed in agony as countless thoughts raced across mind rapidly. He needed to make a decision immediately or risk losing both their lives.
At that moment, Rukia arrived.
"Ichigo!"
After noticing Rukia's presence, he glanced behind and handed Inoue to her. "Stay there, Rukia. This Hollow..."
However, his words were cut off abruptly when Hollow launched itself forward, intending to retrieve Inoue once again.
Ichigo braced himself, preparing for inevitable confrontation.
Clang!
A metallic noise echoed loudly throughout the area signaling clash between them.
Ichigo grunted heavily, struggling desperately against the tremendous force applied by the Hollow's attack. His feet dug deeply into soft earth beneath them leaving behind deep furrow marking ground where he stood previously.
Grunting angrily in response, he swung his weapon downwards aiming to cleave the enemy apart in one fell swoop. But he hesitated midswing, resulting only in a shallow cut.
"Groooaaar!"
He kicked Ichigo's stomach, making the orange haired boy groan in agony while being blown backward forcefully.
"Ichigo, why didn't you strike seriously?!" Rukia yelled at him angrily. She saw him hesitating when striking at that Hollow, giving it a chance to strike him down.
However, Ichigo ignored her question. He rose slowly and gripped the hilt of his sword tighter. He was about to rush toward Hollow again when he heard a soft whisper.
"Brother..." Inoue mumbled in despair as she opened her eyes. "Huh? I-Ichigo-kun? Why are you- Wait, please don't. He... He's my brother."
Hearing that, his resolve wavered again. He looked between Inoue and the Hollow several times. If his suspicion was true, then he couldn't strike this monster. But he needed to kill it, or it might eat his friend or worse, innocent people.
"Rukia..." He called out to the one who had been guiding him. "Can Hollow turn into Pluses? This Hollow..."
"Don't be stupid, Ichigo. You've heard and encountered Hollow enough now. They are souls that turned into monsters. You will only save the soul by killing the Hollow, purifying its existence. This Hollow, there's no way you could turn it back into a Plus."
Rukia interrupted his sentence firmly with a stern gaze.
'Is that so...' Ichigo thought dejectedly. 'If that is the case... Then, I have no choice.'
He glanced back toward Inoue and nodded solemnly at her. She shook her head frantically while sobbing uncontrollably, tears flowing down her cheeks ceaselessly.
Ichigo turned to Hollow again, preparing to cut it down once more.
"Don't-"
He heard her scream in the background but paid no heed to it whatsoever. His sole focus lay entirely on slaying the monstrous creature before him.
"Groooaarr!"
It charged toward him with a loud roar reverberating throughout the area. Its movement was slow compared to Ichigo's speed. He easily dodged and slashed its body horizontally, cutting its arm.
"Arghh! You! Give me Inoue!" The Hollow screamed loudly as a strange substance splattered everywhere around him.
In that moment of hesitation, the creature lunged forward trying desperately to snatch her away from Ichigo.
'Fuck! It's a strong one!'
He couldn't fight while protecting Inoue while hesitating. His opponent was stronger than any of the Hollows he encountered before..
And if he kept dodging like this, he wouldn't win this battle. Even if he could somehow manage to defeat this monster without hurting Inoue in the process... What about her? How would she react after seeing her brother killed by him?
He wanted to save his friends, but killing the person they love wouldn't be something they want.
"I-Ichigo-kun... Is he... suffering?"
"..."
Ichigo didn't know what to answer.
"My brother... He wouldn't do something like this... It must be painful... so, please..." Inoue sobbed uncontrollably, her eyes filled with tears. "Please let him rest. Can you save him?"
Ichigo looked at Inoue forlornly before turning back to face the monstrous being before him again.
'Is there really no other way?'
"Ichigo!" Rukia shouted from afar. "Don't hesitate!"
Indeed.
Holding back would only hurt them even more. Inoue wanted to release her brother from this nightmare, so he should grant that wish.
Even if she would come to hate him for doing that, at least her brother's soul would remain untainted, purified by his zanpakuto.
"Sorry." Ichigo muttered softly under breath before raising his weapon high above head , preparing to deliver a finishing blow upon the towering figure looming ahead.
'Even if I have to sacrifice everything, even if I am hated...'
He would protect everyone.
"GETSUGA-
Because he was Kurosaki Ichigo.
"-TENSHO!"
He would do everything to protect his friends!
A crescent moon slash of spiritual energy burst out from the tip of Ichigo's sword and engulfed the Hollow, slicing it cleanly in half. The figure disappeared in a mote of black lights.
And Ichigo didn't see a soul being released, nor he saw that soul's memories.
"Brother..."
Inoue stared blankly, tears streaming down her face continuously. Her voice was weak and barely audible amidst deafening silence surrounding them.
Then suddenly she fainted and collapsed to the ground.
Ichigo stood there dumbfounded, unable to process what just happened. He turned to Rukia seeking answers regarding this phenomenon but she remained quiet.
"... You did the right thing." She said simply.
The words didn't reassure him however.
Instead, they weighed heavily upon him causing guilt and anguish welling up within him.
It felt like a thousand knives stabbing into his chest repeatedly, leaving behind excruciating pain coursing through every fiber of body. He clenched his fist tightly, trembling slightly due to overwhelming emotions surging forth uncontrollably.
And then, something hit him.
"Wait. Inoue was able to see Hollow and me. She saw me in my Shinigami form." Ichigo's eyes widened in realization, "This is bad. How do I explain this to her?"
Rukia responded with a smirk, "That's your problem to think about, not mine."
"Hey, at least help me think about it!"
"As I said, not my problem." She shrugged her shoulders. More importantly, let's go to Urahara Shoten. That girl needs some care and treatment."
Looking at the fainted Inoue, Ichigo couldn't argue anymore. If Rukia offered no help, then he just had to find someone who would give him ideas.
And there was no one better than his twin brother.
'Please help me with this, Shirou...'
***Chapter End!***
Because of achieving Shikai early, Ichigo has become stronger than canon part! But he's still too inexperienced, too naive!
Anyway, if you want to read more than this, you can visit other website or my tumblr.
tumblr. com/blog/shuvilily or pat or reon /ShuviLily<< I have advanced chapters here! Just follow the link!