"Dadddd! We're out of milk again!"
Yuzu, the youngest member of the Kurosaki household, have always been keen in keeping the house in order. So naturally, when the number one source of nutrition value is out, it's no surprise that she should be the first one to notice.
Isshin Kurosaki rushed into the kitchen as if Yuzu just pulled the fire alarm. "What? Oh no! Already?". He poked his head dramatically into the refrigerator to confirm the situation. "That's weird, I bought three cartons just last week!"
Karin, the second youngest in the family, didn't bother turning her head from the TV; the overreaction of her family is hardly new to her. "Its probably Ichigo." She stuffed some chips into her mouth before continuing. "That guy drains three glass worth before going to sleep every night."
Isshin shook his head wisely. "Well, I can't fault him!" he declared, "a man at his age needs his nutrition. How else is he going to grow up to be a handsome guy like me?"
Karin and Yuzu ignored him.
"Either way, I can't just let him drink away all of our hard earned money without working for it", Isshin continued. "Ichigo! Get your butt down here!"
Loud noises can be heard from upstairs, followed by the sound of quick footsteps descending the stairs.
"W- What?" Kurosaki Ichigo arrived into the living room with a scowl, clearly unhappy on being disturbed. He ran a hand through his orange flock of hair in annoyance. "I'm busy with homework," Ichigo explained sheepishly, "and I got three te-"
"Here!" Isshin tossed a bag of money at Ichigo, who caught it clumsily. He peered into the bag, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "What's this for?"
"For you of course!" Isshin stated it as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Now hurry up and go get your family some milk!"
Ichigo made a quick glance at the clock on the living room wall. "Its almost twelve you crazy old man! I'll do it tomorrow." His retort earned him an elbow into the face.
"I don't think so kid. Your not sleeping under this roof until you fetch your family some dairy nutrition!" Isshin continued sagely " What kind of man does that to his family anyway? Eating up his family's resources and not worki-"
"Alright! Alright! I get it, I'll go!" Seriously, nothing can stop him when he goes on like this. Ichigo pushed himself up to his feet, rubbing the light bruise on his cheek. "How many cartons?"
"Five or six is good enough!" Yuzu poked her head out from Isshin's side. "Be safe Ichi-nee-san!"
"Yeah..."
"Will that be all sir?"
"Yeah, thanks."
Ichigo exited the store without delay, hoping to reach home and get some rest as fast as he can. Its been a really busy day. Three hollow attacks early in the morning, followed by two more later in the afternoon; everyone in his class must of thought he got some health issues for going to the nurse's office three times within an hour. To make matters worst, while fighting a hollow, Kon ran off with his body after some girl. Ichigo found him in a garbage dump three hours later.
"I really need a vacation." Ichigo murmured to himself.
Its already pass twelve. The street was dark and empty save for the pockets of light drawn from the dim street lamps. Ichigo's footsteps echoed down the hollow street, silencing the chirps of nearby crickets. He stopped.
Closing his eyes, he can feel a slight movement shifting behind him. Then slowly, his ears caught on to the light tapings of footsteps approaching his back. Ichigo silently dropped his free hand into his left pocket, clenching onto his shingami badge, preparing to pounce at the slightest provocation.
It never came.
Spinning around, Ichigo was greeted by an unsuspected sight. A slim figure, about a head shorter than himself, limped towards him at an agonizing pace. Even through the poorly lit street, Ichigo can tell that the figure is in fact, a female. Her short, ebony hair, decorated with two extended braids bonded by white cloth, grazed around her freely as she struggled to move. To Ichigo's surprise, she's wearing a standard robe for a shingami captain.
Ichigo relaxed his grip on his shingami badge and frowned. What's a captain doing in the human world?
"H-Hey, you ok?" Ichigo approached her quickly, noticing the patches of blood that stained her uniform. He reached down with a helping hand.
"Stay away from her, boy."
Both Ichigo and the female captain looked up. Ten meters ahead of them, three tall, lean figures, dressed in pitch-black garments, stood motionlessly with hands behind their back. Even though their lower faces are covered, the one who spoke had a voice as clear as glass. One of them took a step forward.
"I'll say it again boy, stay away from her. You have no idea how dangerous that women is."
Ichigo looked down at the kneeling captain beside him. She certainly didn't look dangerous in her current condition.
The masked figure continued speaking, this time directing his attention to the injured shingami. "Now captain, please stop struggling and com-"
"You guys the one who did this to her?" Ichigo interrupted him with a frown, his hand back into his pocket.
The masked figure didn't take the interruption kindly, as he visibly scowled. "No, but we are here to finish the job." His clear voice is tainted with a slight sneer. "And if you are to interfere boy, we will show no hesitation in doing the same to you."
Ichigo ripped his shingami badge out of his pocket and flushed some of his spirit pressure into the wooden seal. Instantly, he erupted out of his human body with Zangetsu secured behind his back.
"You guys make me sick." Ichigo spat, pulling Zangetsu out of its bondage. "How many of you does it take to take on one injured girl?"
"Stay out of this, Kurosaki!" The female captain has managed to get back on her feet. She raised one slender arm behind herself and rested it on the hilt of her own Zanpakuto. "This is my fight." Her voice is strained and labored, coming out in short rasps.
Ichigo gave her a perplexed look. Now that he think about it, there has been so many times where he was in the same situation, demanding to fight alone even though he didn't stand a chance. He never realized how foolish it was till now; pride is not far from absurdity.
"Don't be stupid. Look at yourself, you can barely stand." Ichigo replied with a baffled tone, "Just take it easy, I'll take care of it."
She didn't respond.
The three assailants pulled out their own Zanpakuto, seemingly to decide that further negotiation will promise no results. Then, with an alarming burst of speed, two of them closed their distance with Ichigo and began a series of frontal assaults, trying to get pass the guard of his pitch-black blade.
'Shit, they're quick!' Ichigo is forced to be on the defensive end, trying his best to maneuver Zangetsu in repelling the enemy's attacks; the two assassins didn't give him a chance to counter as they continued their agile aggression.
"Kurosaki! Behind you!"
Ichigo turned around just in time to see the third assailant positioning himself behind his back. There is a gleam of blue steel as the assassin thrust his blade towards Ichigo's unprotected neck.
The attack never reached however, as the injured Captain aimed a quick, agile kick into the man's wrist, disarming him of his weapon. Then, using the momentum of her own kick, she buried her own blade into the assassin's chest.
Even through the concealing mask, Ichigo can tell that the man's face is contorted in pain. He took a quivering step back before collapsing onto the cold street, lifeless as a ragged doll. His companions ceased their attack and jumped back to create some distance, clearly surprised that the injured captain still posses a threat.
"That sword's no good."
The captain's voice brought Ichigo out of his daze, who is slightly taken aback by her deadly elegance. It took him a few seconds to realize that she is talking to him.
"W-What are you talking about?" Ichigo stammered, not quite sure what she meant.
The captain never took her eyes off the enemy. Slowly, she raised a slim finger and pointed it at Zangetsu. "Your Zanpakuto's too big." She explained, matter-of-factly. "Those two in front of you are part of the Onmitsukido, the Covert Ops, who specializes in movement and tactics. There's no way you'll be able to cut them by swinging around something that big."
"So what should I do, borrow yours?"
The petite captain raised a brow, lips thinning dangerously before speaking. "I believe you achieved second release, yes? From what I heard, it's quite powerful."
Ichigo mentally cursed to himself, embarrassed to the fact that she named his abilities before himself. He only just met her, yet she already seems to have an uncanny ability at dampening his spirit. Grabbing the hilt of Zangetsu with both hands, he shifted his feet so that they are shoulders apart. Ichigo then took a deep breath.
"Ban-kai!"
Blue aurora engulfed his features, which is then submerged into rippling sheets of flaring black Reiatsu. The captain shielded her eyes from the overwhelming discharge of spirit pressure. Despite the ominous appearance of his dark Reiatsu, she find it strangely comforting; his radiating energy warmed her numbing skin and seems to dull the aching pain in her wounds.
"Thanks for the safe earlier, Shingami-san" Ichigo muttered as the swirling energy around him evaporated; his once bulky Zanpakuto now compressed into a sleek, refined katana. "I'll take care of the rest."
Brandishing his sword arm behind himself, Ichigo turreted a leveled amount of Reiatsu down his arm and compressed it into his blade. "Getsuga-". He swung his blade towards the two assassins, releasing the his constraint on his Zanpakuto. "Tensho!"
A surge of pitch-black energy tear itself away from Ichigo's blade, crashing towards its foe. The two masked figures tried to invade, but the sheer size and speed of the blast made it impossible to escape. By the time Ichigo's attack faded away, the two assassins laid motionlessly on the street floor.
With a sigh of relief, Ichigo returned his Zanpakuto back to its Shikai form. He walked over to the kneeling captain and extended a hand.
"You ok, Shingami-san?"
She grinned and took his hand.
"I have a name you know." She muttered, using Ichigo's hand as a leverage to steady herself.
"Second Division Captain, Onmitsukido commander, Soifon."