Cosgrove:
Difficulty: FULL KUBO
Everything is according to KUBO's keikaku.
First, let me explain how dice rolls work here on Bleach Quest. I take the best of three, barring any Critical Successes or Critical Failures. If I have not yet asked for dice, and you roll anyway, your roll will count towards the next time I ask for rolls be it for good or ill. After I get three results for a roll, all others are discarded.
CRITICAL MASTER I
From now on any and all crits within the first ten rolls, good or bad, are stored to be used on the next roll, exponential affecting it if there's more than one.
In the Blood
You've awakened your inherent Quincy blood!
Sixth Sense
Takes the first five rolls when searching for spiritual energy
Now then, last time on BLEACH QUEST…
CHAPTER SUMMARY: In which Ichigo Kurosaki just can't make up his mind.
Bleach Quest
Chapter 10
As Orihime embarrassedly retells her story, you two are walking to your classroom. When you open the door, you see Honsho staring murder at you. Tuning her out, you look around only to see a heavily bandaged Chad sitting at his desk, a parakeet in a cage on it.
Even without looking, you know there's something seriously wrong with that bird and Chad.
They both stink of a hollow's Reiatsu.
However, before you can go investigate, you find that class has started and you don't find a free time to talk to Chad throughout the day, all you can glean is that the parakeet seems incredibly intelligent and is capable of speaking. Its name is apparently Shibata Yuuichi. Finally, when the classes end, you see Chad walking off.
You try to sneak around, but you're not doing so great. However, it doesn't seem to matter as Chad and the parakeet seem oblivious to your presence.
You try to keep an eye out spiritually for any hollows, but you don't sense anything. Chad seems to be waiting at an intersection for a light to cross when you suddenly see a figure swoop down from the sky and slam Chad in the back, sending him flying into traffic, Causing a traffic accident with several cars.
The bat-like hollow grins as it watches.
You think you should get involved, but you're not sure to grab Chad and run or try out that Soul Candy Urahara left you. As you struggle to make a decision, the hollow vanishes. A few moments later, you hear ambulances sirens.
You stand to the sidelines and watch as emergency crews grab the accident victims along with Chad and drove off, several heading towards the direction of your family's clinic. It's seemed Chad's ambulance was heading in that direction.
Moving at a flat run, you make it home. The ambulances have already come and gone, but it seems obvious that your family is busy taking care of patients. Looking at the door of each room, you finally find Chad's room and, after explaining the situation to your father, are allowed access.
As you open the door and walk in, Chad looks over at you. "Ichigo" He's laying in the bed, his body covered by a blanket. On the table next to him is the parakeet.
"Chad, can you walk? I need to take you to someone. I can't talk about any details right now, but that bird might be part of the reason for the accident earlier. Please trust me."
He stares at you before nodding his head. As he sits up, you see that it takes him effort to do so. As he stands up, he sways a bit as you support his weight by wrapping one of his arms around your shoulders. His other arm holds the parakeet.
It's slow going, but eventually you make your way to Urahara's store and knock on the door. When it opens, you find yourself staring down at a small girl, her black hair up in pigtails with two long stands trailing down the center of her face.
Her purple eyes stare up at you morosely.
"S-sorry, we're closed."
You look at this girl and have to wonder why she's at Urahara's shop. Still, this is a serious situation, with no time to waste.
"I'm here to see Urahara. Spooky ghost business."
Her eyes light up and she smiles at you. "Alright, I'll go get him."
The door shuts at that, leaving you supporting Chad outside the store. Your eyebrow twitches. Couldn't she have at least let you inside?
You pause in your thoughts as you see something that looks like a slug land by your feet. In its cage, the bird starts panicking. "Look out!"
At that point, you hear a shrill whistling.
Shoving Chad away, you take the brunt of the blast when the leech explodes below you. It hurts, god does it hurt, but it doesn't seem like you're too badly injured.
You hear a sinister laughing along with the flapping of wings as the hollow descends. "Almost made it to safety, little birdy. Lets watch your protectors die again, shall we?"
It sticks out its tongue and licks its 'lips.'
You can hear the bird crying, repeating out the words 'I'm sorry' over and over again.
This might be the most disgusting hollow you've met yet, but you're powerless to do anything about it as you are now.
Popping out the dispenser, you pop open the top and down the pill. Immediately you find yourself staring at your own body, which is looking at you attentively. Weird.
However, there's no time to dilly-dally. You bark an order at your body and Chad.
"Spooky ghost! Inside! Now!"
Your body gives you an odd look before nodding and grabbing Chad's arm, pulling both of them inside the shop.
As you hear more leeches coming to intercept, you grab Zangetsu off of your back, its bandage sheath unravellnig as you do so, and cut them into pieces.
Staring at the hollow, you reach out towards your Zanpakuto's spirit. "Zangetsu, please lend me your strength."
You see Zangetsu's hands grab onto the hilt as well as power floods through you and the hollow collapses under your spiritual pressure.
As you move in to attack, the hollow suddenly stops playing possum. With a sickly grin on its face it swoops upward with a whistle, as you notice there are suddenly a lot of leeches at your feet.
However, your spiritual pressure thanks to Zangetsu manages to block out most of the damage. As the dust settles, you support yourself and look around warily for the hollow.
Feeling for where the hollow has hidden itself, you immediately pinpoint it, as it tries to sneak towards Urahara's shop but you aren't having any of that.
Readying to charge, you hear Zangetsu's voice.
"Ichigo, trust me. Grab me by my bandages and swing me until I say otherwise."
Nodding your head, you grab the loose bandage and start spinning the sword, gaining it momentum as the hollow approaches the shop slowly before dashing toward it.
"Now."
Changing your arm's momentum, Zangetsu flies through the air like a giant throwing knife before stabbing the hollow through the mask. As it vanishes, you tug it back with the bandage wrapped around your hand and catch it.
At that point, Urahara walks out of his shop, looking annoyed.
As you move to look towards Urahara, you notice something. The hollow isn't gone yet, its form reappeared, floating in midair as two giant doors with skeletons on them open. The entrance is warded off but a giant arm stabs a knife through the hollow's body as it shrieks in agony before the arm drags it in on the blade and the doors slam shut.
As the doors vanish, you dedicate your full attention to Urahara. "'Sup?"
He gives a nod at you before looking around this property before letting out a groan of annoyance. "And I had just gotten things the way I liked them! Still, now that we're here, best we get down to business, Ichigo. Let's go inside."
As you follow him in, you hear a bratty boy's voice arguing with your own voice?
"-have the right to live freely!"
Enterring the room, you see Chad and the parakeet staring at your own body, which has been restrained by a redheaded boy and the girl from earlier as it struggles to get free. To your side, Urahara glances over at you.
"I must apologize, Ichigo, seems like I sold you a defective product. I'll dispose of it and get you a replacement."
At his words, fear is etched into your body's face as its struggles worsen.
Turning to Urahara angrily you point towards your body. "What the hell is going on here, huh? What do you mean 'defective' and 'dispose of it?!'"
Far too calmly and casually Urahara responds. "He's a Kaizo Konpaku, a modified soul, created originally by Soul Society but was a terminated project."
Your body's face is warped by a terrible rage. "Yeah? I was created just before Soul Society ordered all of us to be destroyed! The day after I was born, I was fated to die! Every day, I trembled in terror as my friends disappeared, and eventually I managed to escape with into storage amongst other pills."
He looks towards you and Urahara, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.. "What gives you the right to decide who lives and who dies? Huh? Life is something precious, not something to be taken by others, called a mistake!"
You turn your head towards Urahara. "Are you sure it's defective? It seems to be doing pretty much exactly what you said it would."
Making a motion of searching for pockets, you gesture towards Urahara with open hands. "Sorry, but I'm afraid lost the receipt."
Urahara stares at you sternly. "Mod souls are forbidden by Soul Society, Ichigo. If you keep him, you might end up finding yourself enemies with Rukia if she has to enforce her duties. Are you prepared for that?"
You nod your head.
"I'm part Quincy, I'm effectively raised and aided by apparent outlaws, and actively plotting the death of a sitting Captain. I would say the ship has sailed, but I'm not sure it ever came to harbor.
"Besides, he's a person. A thinking, breathing person. Life is precious and I haven't seen any evidence he's undeserving the privilege."
The entity in your body seems to be crying, looking at you with something akin to relief as Urahara nods his head, acknowledging your point. Nearby, Chad seems to be squinting in your direction, as if he's trying to see something clearly.
Your head turns back to Urahara. "Now, why I originally came here was because of that bird and Chad. They stunk of hollow Reiatsu, so I came to get your advice."
Urahara nods his ehad and lets out a quiet humming as he approaches the cage and looks in. "It's the spirit of a boy Ichigo, shoved into the bird by that hollow. There's no way for him to return to his body anymore, only for him to move on."
The bird looks at Chad. "I'm sorry, mister. He told em if I could escape him for long enough, he'd bring back my mother."
Urahara lowers the brim of his hat. "I'm afraid that isn't possible. Nobody can bring back the dead. All you can do is move on to Soul Society, where I'm sure your mother is waiting for you."
At his words, the bird seems to look depressed before perking up. "Really?!"
The shopkeeper nods his head. "Are you ready?"
The parakeet, Yuuichi, nods his head. At Urahara lifts the pommel of his sword to the bird's head. As it contacts, the boy's spirit appears and looks towards Chad, who stares the spirit.
"Thank you mister for your help, you didn't let me get hurt."
Chad nods his head before pausing. "When I see you again… could I carry you around one more time?"
The boy smiles at him brightly as his form begins to vanish. "Sure!"
When the boy was gone, things seemed to wrap themselves up. You found yourself in your body, holding the mod soul's pill in hand on your way home. Urahara had ushered you out, vowing to take care of Chad for the night and that you should come back tomorrow afternoon.
You made your way home, talked with your family about the night's events over dinner and went to sleep. Tomorrow will probably only bring more hardships, but for now things seems to be at peace.
BLEACH QUEST X END TO BE CONTINUED NEXT EPISODE:
"That's the reason why I thought 'I must protect them until I die…'"