Chapter 2: A Universal Calling
Hello everyone, AlucardsBro finally here once again with the second chapter!
As I mentioned in a few of my other stories, I have recently had to put a good majority of my writing time on hold in favor of studying for final exams. Thankfully though, winter break is now here, and I can devote more time to actually putting words to paper.
That aside, I was not surprised by the mixed reception this new story received, what with some people clinging faithfully to the original version, and others praising my obvious improvement with writing overall. However, as I told myself when coming up with the plot for this new story, I don't just do this for you guys, but myself as well. I have a story to tell, and this time I won't let a few negative reviews stop me from finishing it.
Oh, and just to clear up any possible confusion, both Ichigo and Ymir are currently seventeen at this point in the story.
Now then, let's get on with the show!
AlucardsBro OUT!
"Order up! Ichigo, take this to table five will you?"
"Sure thing, old man," the orange-head replied, snatching the plate of dango and hot coffee off of the opening separating the kitchen from the rest of the café. Yoshimura laughed good-naturedly at the young man's jab, before waving him off to finish up with the rest of their orders.
Carefully balancing the plates and mugs along his hand and lower arm, Ichigo maneuvered through the multitude of busy tables to his immediate customers.
It had been approximately a week and a half since he had fallen into the void of the Senkaimon and ended up in this strange, if oddly familiar, new world. In that time, he had come to learn that this world had some very noticeable differences compared to the one he was familiar with…most notably the existence of 'Quirks.' Quirks were basically individual superpowers that the good majority of the planetary population possessed, and each Quirk varied from person to person.
One individual might simply have an additional appendage, while another might be able to influence the very tectonic plates of the Earth. Ichigo found it rather amusing that some people were born with Quirks that were all but useless in combat situations, yet others had powers that literally made them gods in human form…
Speaking of which, another thing that made this world different than his own was the fact that there were certain people running around who were officially classified as Professional Heroes. These heroes were each apparently given permission by the government to use their powers to help common people, and almost all of them were held in high esteem by the masses, especially the guy called 'All Might.'
However, despite the fact that Ichigo was all for the existence of these heroes and the cause that they represented, he was most certainly not a fan of the idea that they had to have governmental permission to use their powers to help people. Helping people should come as an immediate response, regardless of whether or not people say you should interfere…
That being said, he could understand the need to keep particular Quirks under constant supervision. All Might, from what he had seen online and through the television, was physically powerful enough to possibly be able to put up a fight against a high-seat Lieutenant, or perhaps even a low-level Captain. However, the orange-head sincerely doubted that the so-called Symbol of Peace would ever dream of turning to a life of crime; he seemed like the kindest and most morally-driven person that Ichigo had ever seen.
Shaking his head to get his mind back on his current task, the young man quickly put on his 'work smile' as he approached table five. Yoshimura had firmly hammered it into his head that his typical personality was a bit off-putting to potential customers, and as such he needed to be much more amiable and charming. "Morning guys," he greeted the table of high school aged girls, placing the plates of dango in front of each of them. "Does everything look like it came out okay?"
They giggled amongst themselves, and almost all of them turned to one girl in particular, who happened to be seated closest to Ichigo at the edge of the table. "Y-Yeah, it all looks delicious. Thanks, Ichigo…"
The orange-head's smile widened, which in turn prompted the young girl to redden and look away, much to the amusement of her friends.
Hmmm…chicks could be so weird…
"All right then, let me know if you guys need anything else. I'll be sure to tell the old man you appreciate his cooking," he said, bowing once politely before turning to walk away. Almost immediately, the table of girls began to once again giggle uncontrollably.
The Substitute's smile quickly dropped back into his typical scowl, and he quickly maneuvered through the tables once again and back toward the sales counter, where Ymir was giving him a truly pitying expression.
"What the hell is that face for?" he snorted, coming to stand next to her.
"Oh please," she grinned, rolling her eyes. "Those chicks were totally giving you the 'fuck me' eyes."
Ichigo choked on air, his eyes going wide and face turning a dark red. "E-excuse me?!"
The brunette cocked a brow. "Come on. You know; the 'fuck me senpai' eyes? That one girl in particular definitely looked like she wanted you to pull her to her feet, rip off her skirt, and go to tow-"
"Oh, can you not?" the Substitute groaned, running a hand down his face in exasperation.
Ymir laughed, bumping her shoulder against his own. "Oh come on, don't be such a fucking virgin."
Ichigo opened his mouth to retort, but the bell hanging over the entrance to the café suddenly chimed, signaling the arrival of a new customer. Glancing at the door, the orange-head frowned upon realizing that the young woman who made her way through the entrance towards an unoccupied table wasn't someone he recognized.
Despite the fact that he wasn't really the most sociable of people, Ichigo had genuinely attempted to try and become familiar with all of the café's usual patrons. Both Yoshimura and Ymir had told him that knowing your customers on a personal level was a good way to get them to come back, which meant more tips for him. The blonde sitting by the window, however, was not someone who he had ever seen in the shop before.
She looked to be around the same age as Ymir and himself, if perhaps a year or two older, with slightly sun-kissed skin and rich golden eyes. A pair of slightly tattered blue jeans adorned her legs, while a simple white shirt and black sweatshirt covered her upper half. There was also a rosy-pink beanie sitting comfortably atop her head.
"Hey Ymir," Ichigo said, turning to address his friend, "it looks like you've got a new…Ymir?"
The brunette had seemingly disappeared into thin air…
Looking around in confusion, the orange-head noticed that the double doors leading into the kitchen were slowly swinging to a halt, indicating that someone had just passed through them. Frowning, he pushed his way into the kitchen, looking for his coworker, who he finally spotted hiding between the refrigerator and dishwasher.
"What the hell are you doing?" the Substitute asked in bewilderment. "You've got a customer."
His friend refused to meet his eyes. "W-Would y-you mind taking t-this one?"
"But she's sitting on your side of the café."
"Please Ichigo," the foreign girl pleaded, finally raising her head. Her breath was shaky, and her entire face was an atomic shade of red from the roots of her hair to the base of her neck.
Ichigo blinked in surprise, before subtly casting a glance in Yoshimura's direction. The older man seemed just as concerned as he.
"Hey…" the orange-head whispered softly, kneeling down to be eye-level with his friend. "Are you okay?"
Ymir wrapped her arms around her knees and slightly shrunk in on herself. "I'm f-fine…"
"You don't look fine," he retorted. "Did that girl ever hurt you? Want me to go kick her out?"
"NO!" the brunette suddenly shouted, surprising Ichigo to such a degree that he toppled over onto his ass. "N-No…she's never hurt me…it's just…I…"
"You like her?" the orange-head supplied, pushing himself back up into a crouching position.
Ymir merely nodded.
Yoshimura suddenly coughed, drawing Ichigo's attention. "We're nearly done for the morning anyway…Ymir, due to the fact that you appear to be in no condition to continue working, I'm giving you permission to head back up to the apartment. Ichigo, would you terribly mind covering her for the final hour?"
"Yeah, sure," the young man nodded, before turning back to Ymir. "You gonna be okay?"
She nodded, before looking up and smiling hesitantly. "Y-Yeah, just give me a bit…"
Patting her shoulder comfortingly, Ichigo stood up and scooped up a notepad, before heading back into the main area of the café while Yoshimura helped Ymir to her feet.
Walking through the tables and approaching the blonde young woman, even his heart thudded slightly when she turned and offered him a beautiful smile. "Good morning," she greeted politely. "Is Ymir well? I thought that this was her section?"
"Ah, yeah," the orange-head replied. "She's just feeling a bit under the weather. The old man gave her the rest of the day off."
The girl's brow creased in obvious concern. "How unfortunate…I was hoping that the two of us could finish our discussion. I don't get to come here very often, you see. My studies often occupy a good majority of my time, and I am forced to settle for the meals sold in convenience stores closer to my school."
Ichigo chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I hear that. Back when I was still in school, I had to snatch whatever snacks I could find."
She laughed, bringing a hand up to her mouth. And wasn't that a melodious sound?"
"Too true," she giggled.
The orange-head grinned, before realizing that he still had yet to take her order. "Ah crap, sorry. What can I get for you?"
She shook her head and waved off his apology. "Don't worry about it, I enjoy making conversation with new people; I would like a simple coffee with a bit of cream and sugar. Nothing more, please."
He nodded, jotting down the request onto his notepad. "Sure thing…can I get a name for the order?"
She smiled. "Ryuko…Ryuko Tatsuma."
Ichigo stared directly ahead at the television in the living room, desperately attempting to ignore the deathly glare being directed at the side of his head.
Ymir was sitting next to him on the couch, and she had yet to remove her gaze from him ever since the morning shift had ended. He had no idea what he'd done to earn her ire, but whatever it was, being on the end of her anger was getting old rather fast.
"Is there something I can help you with?" he finally asked, letting out a resigned sigh and turning to face his friend.
Her eyes only narrowed. "You were flirting with Ryuko…"
Ichigo snorted incredulously. "You call that flirting? All we did was talk. She introduced herself, asked about you, and then placed her order. Then, when I brought it out to her, she thanked me, and I left to take care of the other customers…nothing more."
The brunette blinked in surprise. "She asked about me?"
"Yeah she…wait a minute! If you two have been talking up until now, then why did you pick today to finally chicken out?!" the orange-head shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at her.
Ymir snarled, before rearing back and slamming her forehead directly into Ichigo's. "Why do ya think?! I was the only server in the café until you showed up, so I didn't have a choice!"
The Substitute pushed against his housemate with an equal amount of force, matching her heated glare with one just as fierce. "So, that's it huh? You're too afraid to talk to her, so you're gonna avoid her like a pansy?!"
"What the fuck did you just call me Berry Boy?!"
"You heard me!"
"Bring it on asshole!" Ymir finally howled, tackling Ichigo off of the back of the couch, sending both of them tumbling across the floor in a tangle of various limbs, body parts, and vulgar insults. They continued wrestling across the carpet until finally a sharp voice cut through the air like a white-hot knife.
"That's enough, both of you!" Yoshimura shouted firmly, having emerged from his room to investigate the commotion. "If the two of you are going to insist on acting like animals, then I may as well put you to work like them as well." Walking back into his room for a moment, the elderly man quickly returned with a piece of paper. "Here, this is a list of ingredients we need for a special order I just received. I would have gone to the store myself, but seeing as how neither of you have anything better to do aside from antagonizing each other, I doubt you'll mind going in my stead," he said, dropping the list on top of the entangled teenagers.
With that, he gave both of them one final firm glare before retreating once again into his room.
Ichigo and Ymir shared a quick glance.
"Sorry about head-butting you…" the brunette grumbled halfheartedly.
"Sorry about insinuating you are an enormous pussy…" the Substitute snorted.
She barked out a laugh, and soon enough Ichigo joined in. The previous hostility between them evaporated into thin air as if it had never existed in the first place.
"Just do me one favor, though?" Ymir chuckled.
"What?" Ichigo replied.
"Can you please let go of my boob? As much as I enjoy a good grope session every now and then, this is starting to get uncomfortable."
The orange-head froze, his eyes slowly trailing away from his friend's face and down towards her chest. And indeed, his right hand was still firmly grasping her left breast, having landed there during their tussle. Ripping his appendage away as if it were on fire, Ichigo launched himself off of Ymir, nearly across the entirety of the living room.
"S-Sorry!" he blurted.
The brunette simply sat up and offered him a curious look. "Gee, good to know that I repulse you that much…"
"That's not what I meant!"
"Oh relax, will you?" she grinned, pushing herself to her feet. "I'm just busting your balls man. I know I'm a hot piece of ass, and you'd be damn lucky to ever get a piece of me."
Grumbling obscenities and curses under his breath, Ichigo accepted the outstretched hand his housemate offered him. Hauling the orange-head to his feet, Ymir gave him a condescending pat on the cheek before bending down to pick up the list Yoshimura had left for them.
"Come on," she said, stepping away towards the coatrack and grabbing her jacket. "The old man will get pissed if we don't hurry up and hustle out of here. Trust me, you don't want to be around for that."
The Substitute nodded.
He had already seen what happened when Yoshimura got mildly irritated…being on the end of his full wrath would most likely be just as poor of an idea as intentionally pissing off Yamamoto…
Grabbing his own coat, which he had thankfully survived the trip through the Senkaimon, he pulled in on and followed Ymir out the front door and down the stairs leading to the café.
"You got the flour?"
"Yep."
"And the eggs?"
"Yep."
"What about the-"
"Yes, I made sure to get everything," Ichigo finally snapped. "I even checked the list three times. Maybe if you'd bothered to help me instead of trying to score with the sales clerk…"
"Eh, it can't be helped," Ymir shrugged, hefting one of their bags over her shoulder. "She was a real cutie. And did you see the size of her rack?"
The orange-head sighed. "It astounds me that I have met guys with more class than you…"
"Hey!" she snapped. "I can be classy when I damn well want to!"
"Then why flirt with a random girl when you obviously like Ryuko?"
The brunette stilled momentarily, and Ichigo briefly wondered if he'd gone too far. Finally, Ymir let out a sigh.
"Ryuko…she's…well…have you ever known someone so incredible that you know for sure there would never be a chance in a million years you could get together? Someone so perfect, so beautiful, so incredibly kind, that they're entire lightyears out of your league?" she asked, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.
Ichigo paused for a moment to think. There had never been any girl in particular that he'd ever been madly smitten with, but there had certainly been an abundance of women from both the Soul Society, the World of the Living, and even Hueco Mundo that were quite clearly out of his league.
Nelliel, Yoruichi, and Rangiku immediately came to mind. He never had actually held strong romantic feelings for any of them, but even he, who was as dense as a boulder when it came to romance, knew that they were extraordinarily beautiful women.
"Yeah," he finally replied. "I guess I have."
"Then maybe you can understand," Ymir sighed, facing forward again. "Ryuko is my unobtainable treasure, so why bother pursuing something I know I can never have?"
The orange-head frowned. "I wouldn't say that…when I talked to her, it was pretty obvious that she at least considers you her friend. She seemed genuinely worried about you when I told her you were sick."
The brunette merely smiled softly and shook her head. "That's just how she is. Ryuko cares for everyone around her, no matter where they come from or who they are. She's even studying to become a Pro Hero so that she can help people even more than she already does…and that girl volunteers at every damn animal shelter and children's hospital in the city."
Ichigo's brow furrowed.
It was clear that Ymir had already cemented the idea that a potential relationship between Ryuko and herself would never happen, but from what he had both heard and seen earlier, the blonde woman obviously cared for his housemate a great deal. Ymir was simply too down on herself to realize that…
Opening his mouth to respond, the orange-head's attention was suddenly caught by a large group of people further down the street. There were several police cars and armored trucks positioned outside one of the skyscrapers, and the entire area appeared to have been closed off for several dozen feet.
"Wonder what's going on?" Ymir mused, a slight hint of worry permeating her tone.
Ichigo silently agreed.
Normally, ordinary robberies involving somewhat powerful Quirk users could be handled by a fairly small group of officers and one or two Professional Heroes. However, there were at least two dozen policemen present and over six of the Pros. Whatever was happening, it didn't look very good at all.
"Come on, let's go check it out," he suggested.
Ymir nodded in agreement, and the two teenagers quickly made their way down the street towards the commotion. Pushing their way to the front of the crowd, which was most definitely not an easy task, they came to a stop just in front of the police barricade.
"What the hell is going on?" Ichigo asked, turning to address the scaly man next to him.
He received a shrug in response. "The cops are trying to keep the situation under wraps, but from what I've been able to hear, there's a group of about three Villains inside, and I guess they're strong enough to merit caution. They've only got five hostages, but apparently three of them are from some big-name family."
"Are they asking for random money?" Ymir questioned.
"No, and that's the weird thing ain't it?" the reptilian man responded. "It seems like all they want it to get away with the rich folks. Can't imagine why though, since the cops have offered them several cash deals to let 'em go."
"Why aren't the Heroes doing anything?" Ichigo frowned.
"They tried to get in, but the Villains are on the top floor, and they've got a guy ready to bring the building down on top of everyone if anyone steps foot inside. They've already called All Might and Endeavor, but they're both still several minutes away."
The Substitute's eyes hardened. Turning to Ymir, he held out the shopping bags in his hands. "Take these for a minute…I'll be right back."
The brunette frowned.
"You better not be doing what I think you are," she whispered quietly. "You don't have a Hero License."
"I shouldn't need one to help people," the orange-head retorted, dropping his bags in her arms before pushing his way back out through the crowd.
Reaching into his jacket pocket, his hand firmly grasped his Combat Pass. Pressing the medallion against his chest, Ichigo was almost instantly bathed in the familiar sensation of being ejected from his physical body and transferred into his Spiritual Form.
However, as he turned around to check if his body had disappeared as Kisuke said it would, he was pleased to see that this had indeed been the case.
Man, he would really need to thank Hat-n-Clogs for the upgrade if he ever actually saw him again…
Tucking the Pass into his Shihakusho, the Substitute utilized a few quick bursts of Shunpo to speed through the air towards the top floor of the building, his movements being far too fast for the crowd below to see. As quietly as possible, he entered through a door on the roof, and made his way down a short flight of stairs, which in turn led to a long hallway with numerous doors positioned on either side. One on the far right side was already slightly ajar, and Ichigo could roughly make out a few voices coming from within the room itself.
"Look man, it ain't that fucking hard!" a gruff, clearly frustrated voice shouted. "Just give me the access codes to your account, and you can all go on your merry fucking way! Not many people would let their hostages go as easily as I am, you know!"
A muffled thud sounded from the room, followed by sharp coughing and wheezing.
Someone had just been struck…
A woman's sobs also hung in the air, but they in turn were muffled by those of a child.
"I already told you…" a new, pained voice wheezed. "I can't give you access here. My accountant and I each have a set of codes that need to be manually input into a number series, along with both of our fingerprints. Seeing as how he isn't here…it looks like you're out of luck."
The original voice curse loudly, and a series of thuds quickly followed. Ichigo presumed that he was most likely physically taking his anger out on the second man who had spoken.
"Please stop!" a woman's voice pleaded. "There's nothing that we can do! Just let us go!"
"You know what? Fuck it," the original voice finally said. "If you're so intent on telling me that I wasted all of my time planning this heist for nothing, then I guess we'll just have to get our compensation some other way. Boys, take the whore into the other room and do whatever the fuck you want with her."
Dark chuckles quickly followed, accompanied by the sound of the woman's increased screaming.
"Hey Ryujin, what about the brat?" one of the Villains asked.
The leader, presumably the one named Ryujin, scoffed dismissively. "I don't fuckin' know…throw her off the roof for all I care."
The woman's screams intensified even more, as did the child's sobs.
The man who had been beaten, who was also presumably the husband and father of the woman and child respectively, weakly attempted to protest, but another thud indicated that Ryujin had once again taken to beating him out of frustration.
Ichigo's eyes narrowed. Time to make a move.
Swiping a hand over his face, he conjured up his Hollow Mask. From what he'd learned about this world in the past week, most Heroes and government officials didn't particularly appreciate it when random people attempted to use their powers in a combat situation without proper permission.
It would be best to keep his face hidden as well as possible.
He had never been particularly good at sensing the Spiritual Energy of others, and he was even worse at controlling the outflow of his own. However, even he could detect the five bodies positioned on the floor. Easily identifiable as the hostages.
One of the bodies was lying motionless; presumably the man who had been beaten.
Another two, one regular sized and the other significantly smaller, were being pulled away from one another by one of the Villains. They were easily the woman and child.
The final two hostages were motionless, but Ichigo could sense that they were simply unconscious.
Taking a death breath, the orange-head carefully raised his own Spiritual Pressure, allowing it to flood out from his body and cascade into every room and hallway throughout the building. However, he was careful enough to concentrate on keeping the hostages from feeling the full brunt of the effects.
Each of the three Villains in the room let out sudden cries of shock, followed by the sounds of bodies roughly hitting the floor. Satisfied, Ichigo finally walked forward and into the room, while at the same time making sure to keep up the pressure.
The five hostages, as he'd hoped, were mostly unaffected by his outflow of power. The three that were still conscious did look mildly ill, but there wasn't really anything else he could do to fix that without completely lifting his Spiritual Energy.
"Are you alright?" he asked, turning to the woman, who was clutching a little girl tightly against her chest. The orange-head made certain to keep his voice as calm and comforting as he could; although this wasn't exactly his specialty, he knew that the poor woman had definitely been through enough stress in the past few minutes to last her several months.
She nodded, clearly still shaken from the experience.
Ichigo smiled reassuringly for a brief moment, even though she couldn't see it, before turning his attention to the Villains still pressed firmly against the floor. "You know, there are a lot of qualities that I hate in certain people," he said, disgust and anger permeating every word. "But out of all of the kinds of people I hate…rapists and murderers are at the top of my list. And, unfortunately for you, you were about to do both."
"Screw you!" one of the Villains, a blond man, sneered. He possessed the same voice as the man who had first spoken, meaning that he was most likely the one called Ryujin. "Who the hell do you think you are, coming in here like this? We told the cops that no one was gonna interfere, or we'd bring the building down!"
"Yeah, and look how well that's turned out for you," Ichigo snorted sarcastically, before reaching over his shoulder and drawing Zangetsu.
Each of the criminals visibly paled at the sight of the massive sword, and even the woman holding her daughter let out a sharp gasp and scooted several feet away.
"Heh, you ain't going to kill me," Ryujin sneered, regaining enough face to attempt to look tough in front of his cronies. "Even with that creepy-ass mask, you're obviously a Hero, coming in here and subduing the bad guys so the hostages can get away…and even I know that Heroes don't kill."
"Me, a Hero?" Ichigo hummed thoughtfully, allowing his eyes to run over his Zanpakuto's blade. "No…I don't really think so. I'm the type of guy who just does what I feel is right, even if everyone else doesn't. I don't like hurting people, but even I know that sometimes things need to get messy in order to make sure innocent people can live more securely."
With that said, he roughly stabbed the tip of Zangetsu's blade into the concrete only mere inches from Ryujin's rapidly paling face.
"You wouldn't…" the blond man said weakly.
"Correction. I will, but I don't want to. What happens now is entirely dependent on your next course of action," Ichigo replied impassively.
Ryujin swallowed nervously, before opening his mouth once again to speak.
However, before a single syllable could be uttered, the entire building suddenly shook. Dust fell from the ceiling, and cracks began to spread along the walls and floor.
The Substitute whirled around, his eyes landing on one of the supposedly subdued Villains he had neglected to pay proper attention to. The brown-haired man, a well-muscled fellow with thick metal chains wrapped around his wrists as some weird kind of jewelry, had a hand pressed firmly against the floor.
"Richter! What the fuck are you doing?!" Ryujin howled, attempting to thrash around and free himself from the effects of Ichigo's Spiritual Pressure.
"You said to bring the building down if anyone got inside!" the man in question shouted back.
"Not with us still inside of it, you moron!" the blond man snarled. "Phantos, get us out of here!"
The third Villain, a sickly-looking man, shook his head. "I can't! This guy is doing something that's interrupting my phasing!"
Another shake rocked the structure, followed by the screams coming from the crowd outside. The building was collapsing…
Cursing, Ichigo prepared to lift his power and get everyone to safety. It would take several trips; even in his Spiritual form he only had so many hands to carry people. Despite his earlier bluff, he wasn't going to sit back and allow the Villains to die either. The building began to tilt to the side, and the orange-head prepared to leap into action.
However, a sudden flash of blinding orange light from outside nearly blinded him. Bringing up an arm to shield his eyes, Ichigo grit his teeth and wracked his brain. It was the middle of the goddamn day! How the hell was there lightning flashing around outside?!
Was it someone's Quirk?
Had another Hero finally come to offer their aid? Or had another Villain come to interfere?
Something impacted the side of the building…something large. The sound of glass and concrete shattering like toothpicks grew closer and closer, and the orange-head readied himself into a battle stance.
Without warning, an absolutely enormous set of brown eyes peeked through the windows. They sat in pools of black sclera, which in turn were set in a somewhat sunken-in face with a mop of messy back hair and razor-sharp teeth.
Preparing to defend both himself and everyone else in the room, Ichigo nearly dropped his blade in shock when the giant creature suddenly spoke in a deep, raspy voice.
"Jesus fucking Christ…I leave you alone for five minutes and you're already bringing down a building? What the hell would you do without me?" it said, eyes firmly locked on Ichigo.
The Substitute's eyes slowly widened in realization. "Y-Ymir?!"
The giant scoffed. "No…it's Paul Bunyan. Of course it's me, you idiot!"
The orange-head's eyes narrowed at the insult. "Well excuse the hell out of me for not recognizing you! It's not every day that a five-meter-tall monster climbs up the side of a building, looks through the window, and starts criticizing me!"
Ymir snarled irritably, the sound coming out as deep and rumbling. Her eyes snapped from her housemate to the rest of the individuals in the room, each of whom were staring at her in varying degrees of shock and horror. Even the Villains were doing so.
"Hey, morons!" she snapped. "Wanna live? Then climb on; this thing ain't going to be standing for much longer."
Indeed, the top half of the building was already leaning to one side, and the bottom section was growing weaker and weaker each minute under the strain.
Turning to the group of hostages, Ichigo ushered them forward. "You heard her, get on!"
After a brief moment of hesitance, the woman picked up her child and quickly walked forward, before carefully climbing up Ymir's shoulder and gripping several locks of the giantess' hair. The three Villains quickly did the same, but not before Ichigo strong-armed them into carrying the two unconscious hostages with them.
The orange-head walked over to help the man who'd been beaten up, but a sudden shake wracked the building again. Ymir roared out a curse and gripped the side of the structure with her taloned hands and feet, finding a stable footing.
Unfortunately, the woman sitting on her shoulder was too surprised by the event to properly do the same, and her daughter fell from her arms and into the open air.
"No!" she screamed, reaching out to grab the child. However, gravity had already pulled the little girl well out of her mother's reach, and she continued to freefall towards the pavement hundreds of feet below.
Ichigo cursed, and quickly faced Ymir. "Can you get this guy?!"
The giantess gave a single nod, and reached forward with a massive hand to pick up the injured man.
The orange-head didn't even stick around to observe anything aside from her nod, and he dived out of the open widow and into the air, using burst after burst of Shunpo to catch up with the freefalling child.
About three of four-hundred feet before she impacted the ground, Ichigo finally wrapped her in his arms and slammed his feet against the condensed Reishi platform he'd managed to create. The impact definitely hurt, and he felt something jar painfully in each of his legs, but the Substitute still let out a relieved sigh as the sobbing girl fearfully clutched at his Shihakusho.
Ymir quickly climbed down the collapsing building with all of the other individuals in tow, and landed several dozen feet away as the structure finally crashed to the ground, kicking up an enormous cloud of dust.
Panting for breath, Ichigo looked down to check his catch for injuries.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
The girl nodded timidly.
"What's your name?"
"M-Momo…Momo Yaoyorozu…"
Ichigo ruffled her hair reassuringly. "Alright then Momo, let's get you back to your mom."
She smiled at that, snuggling up against his robes and nodding happily. The orange-head was honestly quite surprised that she wasn't absolutely terrified by his voice and mask, but then again, he had just saved her from certain death.
Shrugging it off, he gently lowered them to the ground, before walking over to where the police were already helping the hostages down off of Ymir. Approaching Momo's mother, who was quite obviously relieved beyond description, he gently handed the little girl off. Mother and daughter hugged each other tightly, and the man who had been beaten earlier by Ryujin, now quite obvious as Momo's father, quickly limped over to rejoice with the rest of his family.
The three villains were already being loaded into an armored car, and the area around which the building had collapsed was being sectioned off by the remaining officers to prevent any further injury.
Ymir subtly shuffled closer to her housemate, still in her giant form. "We need to scram while we still can…" she hissed nervously. "We don't have the clearance to be using our Quirks like we just did…"
"Just act natural," Ichigo whispered back, waving as several members of the crowd began to applaud for both Ymir and himself. "I'll think of something."
He continued to wave to the crowd, with Ymir awkwardly doing the same with a single massive hand. Suddenly, a boom echoed from further down the street, kicking up a cloud of dust and catching the attention of everyone in the area. Several officers drew their weapons in preparation, and several of the Pro Heroes on the scene looked ready for a brawl.
However, an extremely boisterous laugh sounded off from within the dust cloud, and the tense atmosphere evaporated almost immediately. As the dust cleared, a towering blond man wearing a red, white, and blue suit emerged, and the crowd started to cheer once again in earnest.
"Fear not citizens, because I am here!" All Might declared passionately, placing his fists on his hips and striking a truly heroic pose.
All of the news cameras on the street quickly turned away from Ichigo and Ymir and instead focused on the Symbol of Peace, who had quickly begun asking everyone in the crowd if they were alright.
The orange-head swore. "Oh…"
"Shit…" Ymir finished. "We need to leave now; neither of us can stop All Might from taking us in!"
That wasn't necessarily true…Ichigo was confident that he could soundly defeat the Number One Hero if need be, but doing so on live television and in front of an enormous crowd wouldn't be good for any reputation he might hope to build in the future.
Unfortunately, All Might quickly finished up with checking on the civilians, before heading straight towards the nervous duo. "Well done!" he praised loudly, "well done indeed! I commend you both for your acts of heroism! You have saved quite a few lives today; you should both feel quite proud of yourselves."
Ymir whimpered, shuffling back and forth on her knuckles.
Ichigo laughed nervously. "Yeah well…we just did what we felt like needed to be done, ya know?"
The Pro Hero laughed, slapping Ichigo on the back so hard that it took every ounce of control he possessed to not fly face-first into the street. Holy shit! This guy really was strong!
"Indeed, I do!" All Might smiled, before his face gained a far more serious expression. "However, I cannot say that I recognize the two of you. I try my very best to keep as up to date with all of the newer heroes as I can, but sometimes a few manage to slip my notice. Who are you?"
"Uh, well…" the Substitute wracked his brain for a suitable name. "I'm Zangetsu, and my friend is Jötunn…"
Ymir snorted.
All Might arched a brow. "Those are fine names…but I hope you can understand my need to be cautious. There has been increased illegal Quirk usage lately, and the Hero Association is trying its best to keep everything under control. Would you mind showing me your licenses?"
Ichigo swallowed thickly.
Ymir growled warily from behind him.
The Number One Hero's smile grew slightly forced. "I see…I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask the two of you to come with me. I would advise you to cooperate and not cause a scene."
The orange-head chuckled a bit nervously. "Well, the funny thing is that I have to go to work tomorrow, and I know that my boss would be pissed if I didn't show up on time. So, sorry, but I don't think we're gonna be able to do that…"
All Might frowned. "If you are unwilling to come peacefully, then I will have no choice but to treat you both as Villains. Think carefully; is that what you want?"
Ichigo's grip on Zangetsu's hilt tightened. "Not at all…but I don't think there's going to be any other options, is there?"
"I'm afraid not," the blond man said regrettably, before cocking a fist back faster than a normal person could see. Launching his hand forward with an even greater amount of speed, the Pro Hero attempted to grab the front of Ichigo's Shihakusho.
A metallic clang echoed throughout the area, and a mildly strong wind buffeted along the street, forcing the onlookers to shield their eyes.
All Might, however, looked on in nothing but absolute shock. His attempt to detain the young man had been easily blocked by the flat of the orange-head's massive blade.
'That's…incredible. His speed and reaction time are on par with my own,' the Number One Hero thought to himself. 'I may not have been using the full force of my power, but it was still enough to be far beyond the normal capabilities of a regular individual…or even that of an experienced Quirk user.'
"Like I said…I've got places to be," Ichigo snarked, and even All Might could tell that the boy was smirking behind his mask.
A sudden burst of steam erupted from Ymir, blanketing the area in a cloud of white haze. All Might covered his face with a hand in case the gas was toxic, and leapt back several dozen feet. Snapping his fingers, the force generated from the action was enough to almost immediately dispel all of the steam.
However, the mask-wearing young man was already long gone, and the massive form of his companion had a gaping hole in its back. The creature's body was already decomposing, so it was quite clear that the actual person controlling the massive form was no longer present either.
Frowning slightly, the Number One Hero quickly surveyed the area. The Villains responsible for the earlier commotion were already detained, and medical professionals were assisting the hostages.
He didn't necessarily agree with the concept of arresting anyone who used their Quirk in public without proper documentation. He, better than anyone, knew that there were some moments in a person's life where they simply reacted without thinking, and rushed into a perilous situation with the intent of helping as much as they could.
However, as much as he respected that trait, All Might still had to keep up appearances and enforce the law as the Symbol of Peace.
He could not afford to be lenient…no matter how much as he wanted to.
And there we go.
I'm not entirely satisfied with the ending, but I'm too exhausted at the moment to really do anything else about it. The quality will pick back up with the next chapter, I promise.
Anyway, Ichigo and Ymir have had their first encounter with All Might, and although things didn't really go down as well as any of them would have hoped, they at least know that they each have the best intentions for the people at heart. As stated in the MHA anime and manga, All Might doesn't necessarily believe that everyone who uses their powers without proper permission should be punished, but he still has to enforce the law.
Like he told Midoriya, there are some times in your life when you simply feel an unexplainable urge to jump in and help people, regardless of whether or not you are supposed to.
That aside, we were also introduced to a few other familiar faces; namely Momo and Ryukyu. And yes, Ymir has incredibly strong feeling for the latter.
I'm fairly confident that we have all had a crush on someone at one point or another where we were simply too enthralled with them to believe it would ever work out. That is what Ymir is experiencing; she doesn't believe she will ever be good enough for someone like Ryuko. Those of you who read the manga know that she is a kindhearted and humble person, while Ymir is rude, outspoken, and loud.
And as for Momo, she is six-years-old at this point, and I do believe that this incident will have a lasting effect on her as a character throughout the rest of this story.
Speaking of ages, someone recently brought up the point that it would be ridiculous to have Ichigo become a professor at his current age, since he is in fact only seventeen. Well…duh.
The first handful of chapters will focus on properly integrating Ichigo into this new world, and then there will be a time skip of several years that will deposit all of our favorite characters at the beginning of the MHA series. I won't reveal how much of a time gap the skip will cover just yet, but it will make sense and feel satisfactory when it does occur.
And yes, I have already chosen Ichigo's romantic partner for this story, but I will not reveal who she is until quite a few more chapters have come out. Let's just say that she is easily my favorite adult female character from the MHA universe.
Well then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, even if it only served to set the stage for future events.
AlucardsBro OUT!