"Morning, Shirou-kun, Ichigo-kun!" Inoue greeted brightly from her place behind the desk. She waved cheerily at both boys.
"Yo, Inoue. You're feeling well already?"
"Yeah! Hehehe, Tatsuki and Kuchiki-san were so worried when I suddenly collapsed. But I am okay now."
"Morning." Shirou added, nodding at the two girls. "Tatsuki-san, Orihime-san. How're you feeling?"
"Morning."
Tatsuki greeted back and Inoue answered him.
"I'm doing great! The food you made yesterday was delicious, thank you very much!" she smiled happily. "I didn't think that I would have a feast when I visited Orihime's place."
"Hahaha, it was part of Ichigo's fault that Orihime-san fell ill, so I tried to make her feel better by making some food. I am glad you like it." Shirou replied with a smile.
"I have to admit your cooking is excellent." Rukia nodded in approval, her face showing satisfaction.
The Shinigami had already blended perfectly into their circle of friends.
Ichigo and his friends started a casual conversation while Shirou was smiling contently.
'I am glad Orihime-san doesn't seem affected by that.' Shirou thought as he listened to them talking.
When she was recovering, Ichigo told her and all his friends about what was happening. He didn't explain Soul Society in detail, but he did mention that he was now a Shinigami. Rukia and Shirou helped to convince his friends about that.
Shirou was relieved that they didn't ask further, because he wasn't sure how he should answer those questions. Chad's straightforward personality also helped in that regard, as the large guy had been a great listener and not questioning anything.
And in the end, they accepted Ichigo's explanation. They didn't doubt anything he said.
School's bell rang, and the teacher came inside the class.
And so, a normal school life started again for them.
"Alright, I will hunt Hollow with Rukia. See you later." Ichigo ran outside the classroom after the bell rang again, signaling the end of school hours.
"Be careful." Shirou nodded at him, watching the orange-haired boy disappear through the corridor.
Now he was alone in the classroom, and everyone else was busy doing club activities or went home. The sun had turned slightly orange, but the school was still brightly illuminated by its rays.
'What should I do now? Maybe I will visit a grocery store. It's been a long time since I cooked something for Karin and Yuzu.'
Thinking so, Shirou stood up from his chair, stretching out his limbs tiredly. His gaze then wandered around aimlessly, searching for anything.
"Hmm, let's just return home."
Just as he was about to take one step, something entered his line of vision, making him halt his movements. His eyebrows furrowed deeply as confusion clouded features.
A black butterfly, fluttered about lazily, moving slowly yet steadily towards him, landing upon the tip of his nose.
Shirou didn't know why, but this creature's appearance seemed ominous. He remembered seeing this kind of butterfly somewhere.
'This... Where did I see this?'
His mind raced frantically trying desperately to remember any memories regarding such a creature, but alas nothing came up.
He extended his hand, intending to grab hold of it. But suddenly—
Gong!
A sound rang in the surrounding area and a gate appeared. The sliding door opened by itself.
"What the..."
It was like those in Japanese castles. Made from sturdy, heavy material with intricate patterns engraved into it, they resembled those gates which protected the innermost chambers of a castle.
'Wait, is that the entrance to Soul Society?!'
Shirou was surprised, his heart began beating faster, blood rushing through veins. His eyes widened in disbelief, unable to comprehend what just happened right before them.
Two people stepped out of the gate, wearing the Shinigami robes. Both of them wore black shihakushō with white obi tied around their waist.
What made them different was the fact one of them, a black-haired man, had a white haori with the 6th Division symbol on his back.
Meanwhile, the other one was a delinquent-looking guy with striking red hair tied in a ponytail. His eyebrows were black and shaped tribal-like.
"Captain Kuchiki, we've arrived. The latest spiritual signature detected is from here."
"I see." The black-haired Shinigami, Captain Kuchiki Byakuya, nodded softly. "Let's find her."
After saying that, they disappeared from the gate's entrance. The gate also closed by itself and then disappeared, vanishing without leaving any trace.
Shirou was flabbergasted. He couldn't say anything as his brain failed to register the situation properly. However, he could only think of one thing now...
"Ah, damn."
Rukia's pursuer had arrived.
He quickly ran out of the school and chased Ichigo and Rukia's spiritual signature.
'I need to find them fast and warn Ichigo about them!'
With his speed, which bordered superhuman thanks to his spiritual power and his practice under Yoruichi's tutelage, it didn't take him long until he exited the school.
Once he arrived at a clearing, he noticed another strange thing happening. Hollows' presence suddenly spiked abnormally, appearing everywhere. Not only one or two but hundreds of them!
'What is this? A Hollow invasion?!'
The sky folded into itself, and a crack began to appear on the blue surface. Soon enough, numerous Hollows started emerging from within it. Their grotesque bodies towered over the town menacingly.
'What's happening?!'
His once normal day suddenly turned into a disaster. First, he saw Shinigami that pursued Rukia appearing and then the Hollow invasion?
He needed to warn his family, he had to tell everyone to run!
But first, he needed to warn Ichigo and Rukia!
'How could I find him? He must've been far from here by now...'
As he thought, something came to mind. Urahara and Yoruichi might be able to help.
They probably detected the abnormality in the area and already moved. So he moved based on his priority, which was his family.
'Ichigo, you better protect Rukia from these Shinigami.'
Thinking so, he jumped over the rooftop and ran as fast as he could. He remembered Yoruichi's words about running fast.
Shinigami could use Hoho or Shunpo using their Reiatsu to move faster, but Quincy did it differently. Control the Reishi in the atmosphere and use it to make a foothold .
He tried it before but couldn't understand the concept at all.
Back in his past life, he only mastered Tracing and Reinforcement. He tried the movement technique but couldn't do it. However, he had to try it now.
As Quincy, he was different from the others. He used something within him and not Reishi in the atmosphere. Still, it's not like he couldn't control Reishi outside.
'Concentrate...'
He took a deep breath and concentrated hard on the task ahead.
'Imagine. If I can't control it because I don't know it, then...'
He just had to change it. And he knew he could do it.
"Trace On."
Blue circuits appeared on his arms, creating sparks as power coursed through his veins. He reinforced his body, used Structural Grasp on his legs to understand it better and then...
'Jump!'
Concentrating the power underneath his sole, he tried to project the Reishi around his leg, and used them as a foothold to jump. A powerful step, a powerful dash.
When he did that, blue light flickered and his figure disappeared, leaping away into the distance. The roof tiles broke and shattered into pieces behind his wake.
"I did it!"
His speed had drastically increased. It was like he was flying across the sky.
However, the feeling only lasted for a short moment. Once he stopped his movement and landed, the circuit in his arms faded.
Then he repeated again.
'Trace On, jump, then land on the platform, and repeat it.'
He continued his repetition until the familiar voice of Yoruichi called out to him. She was in her cat form.
"Shirou!"
She was sitting on top of the building, staring straight at Shirou's figure. He stopped beside her and crouched.
"Yoruichi-san, you have to know this. Rukia's pursuer, the Shinigami, has come. And these Hollows, what are they?! Why are there so many?!"
The cat sighed and then replied with an indifferent voice.
"We know. Kisuke is moving with the kids and Tessai to stop the Hollows, but they can't do anything to the Shinigami. The reason why the Hollows appeared was that Quincy from your school. He used something to call them."
"Ishida?"
"Anyway, we will handle this situation, you go to where Ichigo is."
"... Yes. I will protect them. Leave it to me!"
The woman sighed again. She had an amused smile on her feline face.
"Then go, Shirou. I will protect your parents and your sisters."
She waved her paws at him and Shirou nodded before disappearing, using his technique again.
"Really, to think the kid who could barely use Reishi then would become this fast... Kisuke, we made a monster here." She muttered with a wry grin, watching Shirou disappear from sight.
***Chapter End***
Hollow invaded!
As you've noticed, something is different. I have a bit of my own creative included, not everything is exactly the same.
Still, the pursuer arrives. What will Shirou do?!
You can already read it in my pat ... reon /ShuviLily
Or just give stones to find out more!