A War of Balance:
A TYBW Reimagining
Chapter 2
"Hollows!" Ryūnosuke sat up, frantically pushing a thin comforter off of his chest. Beads of sweat cooled his face and neck as he took in his surroundings. This wasn't the rooftop where the Hollows appeared, so where . . .?
"Quit yelling!" A young man with orange hair scolded him and threw something at his face. Ryūnosuke yelped when the small bread roll flew through his face. "Go ahead and eat that," the orange haired youth pointed and sounded annoyed, "Your Gigai's right there."
Following the gesture, Ryūnosuke found his own body, lifeless, almost like a corpse. He nearly fell off the bed he was so shocked.
The guy with the orange hair ignored him and sat on the floor with three others. All young, like him, and all somehow familiar. They were eating bread, like the roll that was chucked through Ryūnosuke. None of them seemed at all bothered by the seemingly dead person lying in bed.
"Are you sure these are alright to eat, Inoue? If they were thrown out they must be pretty bad, or stale." The orange haired youth complained and stuffed a roll into his mouth.
"I guarantee that's not the case!" A young woman with long hair responded with a bright smile that completely deflected the negative comment. She, apparently, was the one who brought the bread. "There's nothing wrong with them. These are just leftovers, so they said I could take them!"
A large, muscular man took large, contemplative bites from a roll. He nodded his head, "Taste fine to me."
The fourth member of the group, a stern-looking young man with glasses shot the orange haired guy a sharp glare. "Show some gratitude. She brought all of this over, so you could at least hold your complaints."
A vein popped out of orange hair's neck, and he returned the glare. This all seemed so familiar. "Who asked you? And I don't see you chowing down. You sure you don't have a problem with Inoue's bread, huh?"
"I'm simply waiting for everyone else to start. It's called manners, you oaf."
"Shut it! Is this how a guest with manners treats their host?"
"It is when the host is an ungrateful punk like you."
Orange hair and glasses were at each other's throats, but the other two just sat by, happily eating bread. They didn't seem to mind that a fight was about to break out in front of them. Was this normal? And why did it all seem so familiar?
"Ah!" Ryūnosuke's mind raced and suddenly he was back on the rooftop, beaten and barely conscious. The orange haired youth was standing over him, Zanpakutō in hand. He'd just introduced himself.
Kurosaki Ichigo.
+ Fade +
"Inoue, take care of this guy real quick." He'd said, speaking to someone out of Ryūnosuke's limited sight.
"Already on it. Just a few more seconds and he'll be safe." It was a girl's voice, the voice of the one that brought the bread, he now realised. "I'll finish healing him when we're all done." He noticed Shino lying next to him, her wounds appeared to be closed. That was good.
A pair of large Hollows leaped at Ichigo while his back was turned, but he noticed and spun on them, striking one down with little effort. The other Hollow was taken out by a powerful punch from the big guy. "Chad," Ichigo called him.
Several more Hollows appeared, flying down from above, or climbing up from below, and charged. The front line of them was decimated in one, incredible blast of spiritual power. The guy with glasses stepped up beside Ichigo, trailing Reishi. "Letting so many get close? You're getting careless, Kurosaki."
"Did you just come to give me shit, cause I don't wanna hear it, Ishida!"
Inoue stepped around Ryūnosuke and Shino to join the others, offering them a reassuring smile on her way.
For some reason, looking at those four youths standing firm against a steadily growing mob of Hollows, Ryūnosuke felt as safe as if he were back in the Seireitei, as far from danger as possible.
+ Fade +
And then he passed out, apparently. That was where his memories of the event ended. It was quite a shock.
"Ahhh!" Ryūnosuke recoiled as recollection beat him over the head and he fully recognized the people in front of him. The ones that saved his life.
"I told you to quit yelling!" Ichigo turned to scold him again.
"You-You-You're the ones that saved us yesterday!" Just getting the words out was a struggle as Ryūnosuke grappled with his gratitude. What was the proper procedure for thanking someone that saved your life?
"Did you just realize?" Ichigo stared at him. It wasn't that strange, was it? Waking up after suffering a traumatic injury did things to your memory, didn't it?! "And by the way, it wasn't yesterday. Try two days ago."
"What? Really?"
"Yeah," The girl, Inoue, chimed in, "I was surprised you didn't wake up at all yesterday. I was worried my healing might have gotten messed up somehow."
Ryūnosuke was stunned. His first day on the job and he'd been defeated by Hollows. And to add insult to injury, he'd spent the day after asleep. Where was the potential that the Captain had pointed to in selecting him for this position? What kind of guardian has to rely on a bunch of local kids to come to his rescue?
Except, these weren't just some local kids, were they? Kurosaki Ichigo . . . That was the name of the Shinigami Representative in Karakura Town. He'd said so himself. He was a pretty famous figure in the Seireitei, especially in the 13th Division barracks. He was a close friend of Lieutenant Kuchiki, after all. His friends were also pretty well known.
But for them to be that powerful, taking on such a large horde of Hollows, was unbelievable. With a group like that around, why even bother sending a guardian in the first place? With both he and Shino present, it was like the Shinigami were doubly wasting their time. Speaking of which . . .
"Hey, what happened to Shino-san? The girl that was with me? Is she-"
"I'm back." The door opened and Shino walked through. "I got some cola." She said, and then noticed Ryūnosuke sitting on the bed. Tears welled up in her eyes and she dropped a bag filled with bottles of cola. "Ryūnosuke . . ."
"Shino-san! I'm so glad you're-" Before Ryūnosuke could express his relief, Shino's shoulder crashed into his face.
"You little wuss!" Shino slammed him down and berated him for making her worry. "Sleeping a whole day? Are you trying to kill me? What was I supposed to do if you'd kicked the bucket, huh?" She wrapped her arm around his head and squeezed. "My wounds were way worse than yours, and I still got up right away! So what's your excuse?"
"Wait, Shino-san, that hurts!"
"Tough! This is what lazy wusses like you get for sleeping all day!"
"Alright, that's enough!" Ichigo grabbed both of the rookie guardians and threw them to the floor. "You're messing up my bed. You," he said, pointing at Ryūnosuke, "get in the Gigai and eat. And you," he turned his attention to Shino, "be more careful with drinks you buy with other people's money!"
The pair did as they were told. Ryūnosuke jumped into his Gigai and took an open space around the leftover bread, while Shino took on the responsibility of opening each and every drink to make sure they didn't fizz up. It felt like a punishment, but they weren't being treated all that poorly. Partially stale bread was hardly cold soba, but as he took his first few bites, Ryūnosuke realized that he hadn't eaten in over a day.
"You sure can pack it down, huh." Ichigo joined the group and took an open drink from Shino. "So, what's your deal then? We've already gotten a proper greeting from Shino here."
Ryūnosuke's shoulders jumped. That's right! I need to introduce myself to the people that saved my life! He spun on the spot and bowed his head formally. "Mm Fmam Ib-"
"Swallow first, dammit!"
He swallowed the big bite of bread in his mouth and began again. "Sorry. My name is Yuki Ryūnosuke, guardian Shinigami of Karakura Town. Pleasure to meet you!" A piece of bread bounced off his head.
"Are you stupid? Thank them for rescuing us and apologize for all the trouble we've caused!" Shino growled.
"But, Shino-san, shouldn't you have already done that? Why should I?"
"Because it's polite!" She reached over the bread and grappled him, forcing the words out of his mouth.
"Th-Thank you for saving us! And we're sorry for all the trouble!" Shino released her hold and, satisfied, took a small bite out of her own piece of bread. Ryūnosuke didn't turn away, though. "Really, Kurosaki-san, I'm sorry for being a burden for so long. We've only just started and already we've made a pretty horrible first impression."
Ichigo nodded. "That's true. But you'll have plenty of time to pay me back."
Ryūnosuke bowed his head again, deeper this time. "Thank you, Kurosaki-san. Truly."
"Don't mention it."
The rookie guardian held his bow until Ichigo kicked him.
+ Break +
By the time the bread was gone, both Ryūnosuke and Shino had visibly relaxed. They sat back and chatted casually.
That wasn't surprising. Kurosaki and the others had a knack for making fast friends . . . somehow. To this day, the way they could simply offer a helping hand to someone and gain their trust didn't make any sense to Ishida Uryu. Even though it had worked on him in the past.
It was a conundrum. He felt so relaxed in this cramped bedroom, surrounded by friends. People he'd endangered and openly threatened, who still smiled when they saw him. He'd become so used to it, it was easy to forget his shameful actions when he first met Kurosaki Ichigo. But now, that forgettable uneasiness was pressuring his comfortable happiness.
And he couldn't say anything to them. Not now, anyway.
"Alright, I'd like to make the most out of my days off, so let's get started." Kurosaki slapped his knees and stood. He sounded unusually motivated.
"Umm, Kurosaki-san?" The heavy sleeper, Ryūnosuke, looked up at Kurosaki with the same confusion that Ishida felt. "What exactly are we getting started?"
"Listen here. I'll lend a hand to you guardians when you need it, but barring an emergency, I'd like to live my life in peace. Go to school, hang out with friends, just relax, you know?" He tapped Ryūnosuke on the head. "But I can't do that if the guys that are supposed to take care of the Hollows can't take care of themselves. So we're having a boot camp. We're going to shadow you two today, and today only, so that you can get your bearings. After that, you're on your own. Got it?"
The rookies stared dumbly at Kurosaki, then at each other, before Shino spoke up. "Wait a second! We can't ask that of you. You've already helped us plenty." The girl acted cool, but she could get flustered easily, it seemed.
"I don't want to hear that now." Kurosaki spoke with a surprisingly commanding voice. Was he actually looking forward to teaching these two? "Look, if it helps you feel any better about it, I'm mostly doing this for my own sake. And besides, Ikkaku will owe me one if I lend you hand."
Shino bowed her head, and Ryūnosuke followed suit. "Thank you very much! We'll be in your care!" She shouted, for some reason. Honestly, Shinigami could be hard to handle sometimes.
Kurosaki then turned to Ishida. "I already talked it over with Chad and Inoue, and they're good to go. You in, Ishida?"
He considered it. Really, he did. Going out with his friends to ensure that these new guardians could do their job at least as well as that guy with the afro seemed like fun. With all four of them, they could probably make them better than the old guardian.
"Sorry, I think I'll sit this one out. I . . . have some errands to run." He turned them down.
"Suit yourself." Kurosaki shrugged. He didn't look too disappointed, thankfully. Though, Inoue definitely was, and could never be too sure what Sado was thinking.
The whole group picked up and filed down out of the Kurosaki household, giving their regards to Kurosaki's younger sisters as they passed. Outside, Ishida split from the group, starting off in the opposite direction.
"Hey Ishida," Kurosaki stopped and called out to him, "If you change your mind, just give us a call. We'll be at it for a while, but don't wait too long."
Ishida turned to look at them all. They were his friends. It was a comfortable thought, but the uneasiness surged. "I'll keep that in mind. Don't teach those two any of your bad habits, Kurosaki."
"Yeah, yeah, shut up and go run your errands."
With that, his friends left. He watched them go, the comfort fading as they grew further and further away. Ishida's uneasiness drove him in the opposite direction. He fished a small bag out of his pocket and inspected the contents. Small, chalky chunks. Fragments of a disk.
Hollow bait.
Memories of his earliest interactions with Kurosaki rushed to the surface. He was so sure of himself then, but now his actions made him queasy. He'd found these fragments after they'd fought off that sudden swarm of Hollows. It wasn't a natural gathering.
Someone was making the same mistake he had back then.
He needed to investigate.