A couple days passed and Arata returned to the Visored's headquarters, ready to "teach" them though he felt he was about to sound like nothing but a broken record than a teacher.
Put more confidence in yourself! Besides, even if our advice doesn't meet their standards, all they wanted was information about how we're such a good duo and then they'll help us train our hollow powers.
A frown crossed Arata's face as he listen to Hitokiri's enthused demeanor. The more he thought about it, hollow powers in soul reapers were a rare occurrence and only through specific means. He did not know what Ichigo or the Visored went through, but Arata could tell it was anything but his first emerging of powers.
"How do we have these powers in the first place? You said you used Ichigo's loose spiritual power, correct?" Arata asked aloud.
Correct you are. I used his energy as the final component to make our powers. I already had the raw material for whatever reason.
"Please elaborate further"
When we arrived in this world, your body had this... powerful energy. It was a small spark of energy but it acted as the building blocks of our power with Ichigo's energy as the final ingredient. The given energy had a mix of what I learned was hollow reishi and soul reaper reishi, like they were old blueprints.
"So we really were teleported here by a third party" Arata said.
Most likely, yeah. Anyway, in conclusion, I assume our starting energy and Ichigo's energy may have erupted these hollow powers within us.
It was definitely food for thought, Arata pondered. It was a start, which Arata wished was bigger though. It did however alleviate some of his curious thoughts. Now he knew his hollow was 100% different to the Visoreds and Ichigo's.
But it also presented a clear problem: was his lesson in understanding even gonna work? The relationship he and Hitokiri had was on a different level compared to any of the Visoreds or Ichigo. Will his words even translate to their situation, or would it worsen everything?
There was not much time to reconsider his plan of attack as he found himself at the door of their base. Arata knocked a few times, to which the yellow barrier forms and opens a door for Arata. The hitokiri walked in to see the hollowfied soul reapers chowing on lunch around a white collapsible table.
"Arata!" Shinji greeted, "I was beginning to fear you've forgotten about us" he then laughed.
"With a stupid smile like yours, how can anyone get you out of their mind?" Hiyori shot to the ex-captain's displeasure.
"I'm surprised to find all of you here" Arata stated.
"Oh? Why's that?" Kensei asked.
"Don't any of you work?" Arata simply asked.
"Actually yeah. Love and Lisa work at a manga store, Kensei and Hachi work in construction, and me and Rose just got employed at a record store. We're active members of society, if I do say so myself" Shinji stated proudly. "Which leaves Mashiro and Hiyori as the moochers!". The statement resulted in a harsh slap from the blonde girl's sandal.
'These two..." Arata thought in irritation. "Alright everyone. Lunch time is over. I have something to say"
"Can't it wait after?" whined the green-haired girl. "We got cupcakes!"
"This is relevant to my inner hollo-... did you just say cupcakes?"
"Yeah! Want one?" offered Mashiro as she handed a chocolate-flavored miniature cake. He looked at the Visored, who were starring at him in quiet anticipation. He promptly turned around and quickly scarfed down the treat.
With a content sigh, he turned back to them. "How about in five minutes we gather?" he supplied.
Five minutes later...
After five minutes passed and two more cupcakes consumed, Arata sat at the table with the Visoreds around him. He looked at each an everyone of them, but when he reached Hiyori, she shrunk in his gaze, looking down and avoiding his eyes. It appears that he left quite the... impression on her. Good, he thought. 'Don't mess with my mask and we'll be good'.
"Alright, Arata, we're all ears" Hachi said.
"Yeah, and judging from what you say next will tell us how generous we'll be i serving you in return" the silverette said. Hiyori nodded in agreement.
He looked over them one last time, getting a feel for the hollows inside each one of them, before he spoke. "I am going to preface and say this: my inner hollow is far different from yours. I give no guarantee that my words or advice will do anything for you"
The pig-tailed girl slammed her hand on the table. "Then why the hell did you come back when all you were going to give was shitty advice?!"
"Hiyori," Shinji started. "We made a deal with Arata because we wanted to know how he has such better control over any of us and in return, we help him train and he joins us. Just as long what he says is without deceit, we will listen". Despite already knowing this, Hiyori shut her trap and quieted.
"Please continue, Arata" Rose offered.
Arata nodded. "Let me ask you all a question: have you ever TALKED with your inner hollow?"
The silence that proceeded his question was well-founded in Arata's eyes. The ex-soul reapers assumed the hitokiri was playing a joke on them until they saw how serious he was about the inquiry. Mashiro was the first to break, snicker at first before breaking into a full on laugh. The rest of her compatriots followed suit, causing a humorous uproar inside the warehouse base. Arata also saw this as well-founded.
The laughter died out, giving the Visoreds the chance to voice themselves. "Y-You're joking right?" Hiyori still laughed.
"No"
"Eh... Not even a little bit?" Mashiro asked as she placed her index finger and thumb closely together near her face.
"No"
Hiyori let her intolerance show, rolling her eyes at the masked man. "If that's your big advice for us, thank you for wasting our time!"
"You still have not answered my question" Arata pointed.
"Other than the expected trash talking and colorful insults to our person, not really" Shinji answered for the rest of them. Hollows were as crass as they came, spitting out more heated fire than an angry dragon. "Arata, you don't honestly expect us to sit down with our inner hollows over a cup of tea and talk about our problems, do you?"
Arata merely shrugged. "Well, how else have you been handling your inner hollows?"
"By beating them into submission" answered Mashiro with a cheeky smile.
An answer he expected in the fullest, Arata thought to himself. It really did not shock him that fighting and chaining their inner demons was their first solution. Exiled or not, they were still soul reapers, and what do soul reapers do best? Beat hollows. The thought of talking and understanding what afflicted them was just a laughable thought to them. Would you talk to your tumor about leaving your body?
"Look, like I said before, I don't fully comprehend my own power. Everyday is a new lesson for me. However, I do know me and my inner hollow understand each other. Me and her talk. I know what she wants, and she knows what I want" Arata stated, letting his words sink in for a moment before continuing again. "You don't have to follow my example. As per our agreement, I am simply offering my knowledge to you all. The decision to talk is in your hands"
The Visored mulled over their options carefully. As of now, their inner hollows were locked down and they could draw on their power for a few minutes. Before Arata's existence was discovered, they thought that was enough. And it still was, they all thought. True to Arata's words, they didn't need to take his advice as they were in a good spot already.
However, the prospect of gaining better control was tempting. No matter how dominant they all felt with their inner hollows, they still felt the creatures squirming to gain an once of control over them. Having them, in a sense, tamer was a reliving thought.
There was also the inevitable battle against the man who wronged them, Sosuke Aizen. For sure they would need more than a few minutes of extra power against the intellectual mastermind. Should they take the counseling of Arata, they could stand a better chance against him and his forces.
Arata did not expect them to accept his advice with open arms, but to his surprise, they concluded they will look into it. "We're not really sure how well this endeavor will be for us, but we'll consider it, Arata" Shinji smiled.
"I seconded it" Lisa chimed in.
"I already got a leg up on all of you!" giggled Mashiro. "Me and my hollow are on a first name basis"
Hachi, Love, and Rose all agreed that the journey was risky, but the reward would be high in the end. They nodded as well to Arata's words.
"You guys can't be serious, right?" Hoyori voiced. "I mean, we could be wasting our time on this shit wen could be doing more important business! And what if our hollows don't listen, hm? Did you even think of that?!"
"If they are apart of you, they will want to talk" Arata simply said.
Seeing as she was outnumbered, she reluctantly agreed to look into the prospect too. Though the idea of more power did make the old lieutenant smirk a little.
"Alrighty" Shinji then clapped his hand. "With your end of the bargain settled with, lets move onto ours. Follow me" he said as he stood up and walked downstairs, the Visored and Arata following.
"I promise you, Arata, you'll thank god every day that you agreed to join us because we're you're best people you could come to about hollow powers" Shinji grinned as they all walked further down.
"Other than actual hollows for obvious reasons" Lisa added.
"Now in light of your existing proficiency in hollow powers, you'll nail our lessons without much difficulty" Shinji then stated.
"I hope so" Arata sighed.
"Chin up, baldy" Hiyori said, inciting a happy smile from the former captain of squad five. "You already have a leg over any of us. Learning basic hollow attacks shouldn't even be that difficult for you. Hell, I don't even know why you agreed to partner with us to begin with"
"You would be surprised...". The group finally enter their underground training area. It was so similar to Kisuke's that it made Arata ponder an interesting thought.
"You don't happen to know a Kisuke Urahara, do you?" Arata asked.
"Know him? The man helped us build this place" Rose said.
"Interesting...". It made Arata wonder how long they've been watching him.
"That isn't important right now" Shinji then exclaimed. "Right now, we need to gauge how potent your hollow powers are". A white mask begins to cover the blonde's face. "The first being a hollow's signature move: the cero"
In the distance about a hundred meters away were many bright red targets. Shinji pointed his fist at the red target before a red sphere started forming in front of his closed fist. In just a second, he fired a low powered cero, hitting the sturdy target and burning it.
Arata was shocked at how fluid his movement were. There was no pause, no sign of struggle, he just pointed, concentrated, and fired. A simple yet deadly effective attack. Yet the most glaring sign he saw was that his firing arm wasn't shaking. It wasn't even trembling. "How...?" he whispered
"Alright, your turn"
With slight hesitance, Arata pressed his mask and stepped up to where Shini stood and faced the charred red target. He looked down at his hand and thought about his encounter with Kenpachi and that bird hollow. In both cases he fired ceros but always ended with his arm shaking without his consent. He once thought that it was normal, that hollowfied soul reapers just couldn't use hollow powers as effectively as the creatures they were synonymous with. That view shattered when he witnessed how easily Shinji fired his cero. It was even stated that he was more in touch with his hollow side than any of them. Why was it that he faced backlash when they didn't?
Concentrating his energy was easy enough, as was firing the white hot beam. The cero traveled at an alarming speed, crashing into the target with so much force it bent backwards. Just as immediate as the impact, Arata's arm started shaking, surprising the Visoreds and further frustrating Arata.
"What the what just happened?" Mashiro blurted out confused at this turn of events.
"That... That doesn't make sense!" Shinji exclaimed in uttered confusion. While he noted how powerful his low powered cero was in comparison to his, the sight of his arm shaking was too much to ignore. "You just said you and your hollow are on good terms! Why is this happening?!"
"Heh. Maybe he isn't as good as you chalked him up to be?" Hiyori snickered.
"Hachi," Shinji then addressed. "Reinforce the next target. Arata, fire a cero at full power" he ordered. The rotund man followed, layering eight barriers on the round red target.
Arata nodded and focused his energy in his other arm, his previous arm still shaking. A white hot sphere formed in Arata's open palm. "Cero" and he fired a white beam twice the size and strength of his last cero. The reinforced target stood strong... for half a second before it was incinerated to ash. The attack suddenly stops as Arata's arm completely shuts down, going limp.
"Arata, what is this?" he sternly questioned.
"Like I said, I don't fully understand my powers. I have no idea why this keeps happening. I was hoping you all knew how to handle this, but from the look on your faces, I assume you all do not?"
"No, we don't. The only backlash we ever experienced was the high risk of losing control, but when we got our hollows under wraps, we were able to freely practice our new powers, and we NEVER once had our arms shake from using ceros or the like" Shinji stated. This whole revelation was still too confusing to accept. The man then groaned, voicing his frustration. "I don't even know what to say to this, Arata. None of us do". The rest of the Visoreds nodded in agreement to his words.
That was the last thing he wanted to hear from these people. They were his best shot in controlling this serious problem, but now it seemed he just had to find a way to work around this. He did not want to handcuff himself and not use ceros and balas; they were too good to not utilize in battle, far more powerful than any attack kido he could do.
He groaned, obviously frustrated at his circumstances. "So that's it then? You can't help me?"
"We never said that. Now we get why you agreed to join us though. You're in a real pickle huh? Love reassured.
"What Love said" Shinji said, his grin returning. "We may not know the intricacies of your powers just yet, but I think some time with us might enlighten you, don't you think?"
"Considering you're only ones capable of teaching me in this particular field, then yes. Time with you will be an enlightening one" Arata agreed. He was never one to turn away doors of opportunity, and with the Visoreds, even though his initial assumptions were crushed, they could still prove to be helpful in other ways in the art of hollows.
"If that's it then, I will be off" Arata said as he started to leave the underground. Orihime asked him to buy groceries.
An amused chuckle erupts behind him. "Alright Mr. Takahashi, have a good one!" Shinji then yelled.
His wording did not reach Arata until he was outside the barrier. When the doorway closed, he stopped to ponder the blonde's words. "'Mr. Takahashi'?"
Days later...
Arata returned to work the following Monday, and was pleasantly surprised to find the school not destroyed into a pile of garbage. True to the principal's word, the threat of the Arata the security guard constantly loomed over all the students minds, especially those of the rougher variety. For most of the last school week, everyone did their best to keep trouble out of Karakura high, and considering Arata wasn't called in early, they succeeded.
Ichigo, Orihime, and Chad tried to leave to fight a hollow, but he promptly stopped them before they left the school gate. After taking care of a human-pig hollow screaming "Beef! Pork!", he returned to school. He walked the halls on the look out for any skipping students when his heightened senses kicked in and he turned around to find a blonde boy with the male Karakura uniform leaning on a wall near Ichigo's classroom. His most defining feature though was his familiar wide grin.
Arata stomped to him until he was at arm's length. He harshly turned Shinji to him, and the man chuckled at the executioner's arrival. "Hi, Mr. Takahashi! I heard a lot about you! My, What a strong grip you have there. Did I do something wrong?" he said cheekily.
"Other than trespassing on public property without reason?" Arata sardonically said.
"Whatever do you mean?" Shinji said, feigning obliviousness. "I'm a new student here. Wish to see my papers?". He then handed the official documents of entry to Arata, who begrudgingly accepted.
"What are you even doing here, Hirako?" Arata interrogated.
The visored chuckled. "Isn't it obvious? I'm looking for a certain strawberry to join the garden"
The meaning was not lost to Arata who knew who this "strawberry" was.
'Told you they were going to pin after him' he mentally told Hitokiri
Yes. Yes you did
"So this is your play, huh? Infiltrate and persuade him to your side?"
"Pretty much, yeah"
Arata stared at him for ten seconds before he shook his head. "You won't succeed". He was aware how stubborn the orange-haired teen was and was positive his answer will be a flat no.
"You don't know that" Shinji dismissed. "I'm quite the charismatic individual. Hell, I was able to sway you to our side"
Arata shrugged at his confident disposition on the matter. Whether Ichigo joined or not was none of his business as long as he doesn't interfere with his desire to grow stronger.
The door slides open and Ms. Ochi let out a startled gasp at the sight of Arata; no matter how many times she saw him, she was never able to fully get used to the ghostly security guard. "Mr. Takahashi, are you by any chance greeting our new transfer student?"
"Yes... I was" he said with slight hesitation. "Just getting a feel for him. Making sure he isn't another delinquent or something despicable"
In fax shock, Shinji placed his hand over his heart. "You wound me, Mr. Takahashi. To think you had such cruel assumptions about me"
"Just get to class already, Hirako" and Arata walked off to patrol the school.
The transfer student turned to the teacher and smiled. "I don't see why everyone is so afraid of him. He's such a nice guy"
"Yeah, well, only if you behave and follow the rules" Ms. Ochi nervously chuckled. "You should've seen the first batch of delinquents he 'disciplined' as he said". She didn't know what happened, but those kids never looked at apples the same since.
Later...
Nightly patrols was probably one of the easiest duties Arata had. The teenagers he managed weren't as powerful as hollows by a long shot, but they sure were three times annoying, and for someone of great patience like Arata, that was saying something. Regardless how easy he found the task to be, tonight was especially slow, as Arata sat at the near top of an electrical tower trying to sense any hollows with his spirit radar ability.
His unentertained mind drifted back to Shinji's arrival and his purpose. He scoffed at the idea of the orange-haired strawberry of actually agreeing to the blonde's offer. In Ichigo's eyes, they were strangers and wouldn't want anything to do with them. If he had to bet, Shinji's will reveal his mask to him, pull a "you and I aren't so different" charade to where Ichigo will still stubbornly deny him and his identity as a visored. Honestly, the more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became at the teenage substitute.
In retrospect, Hitokiri's comparison to his and the boy's stubbornness was pretty apt, but Arata was an adult to see the usefulness of the Visoreds at first glance. If Ichigo wanted to keep running away from the problem that was his inner hollow, that was on him to feel the consequences.
Suddenly, multiple alarms ring through his body as he fell multiple new spiritual pressures. From afar, he sensed Ichigo and Shinji's energies colliding with one another, most likely Shinji making his move. It another, Uryu's faint and weak reiatsu with another yet similar signature. A blood relative like his father perhaps? Then lastly, in another direction, a familiar yet annoying signature, Kon, was being chased by a powerful hollow signature.
Seeing as the former two weren't in any too much trouble, he went to Kon, hoping this hollow would provide ample entertainment for him in the form of its death. He leap from building to building, closing the distance between him and this possible foe. He lands on a building overlooking the whole scene: Kon was laying on the ground while he faced a large hollow, but this hollow was far different than any he had seen since coming to this world.
It was male and humanoid-shaped with green fur covering most of his body with a hollow hole on its chest. It's mask was whole yet was separated, showing a face in between the teeth. The most striking feature was the blatant zanpakuto strapped to his back.
From afar, he couldn't fully comprehend the power this hollow had, but at closer look, it was more powerful than the bird hollow he faced. Perhaps it had to do with his bizarre appearance. Maybe more human-like hollows were more powerful, Arata guessed.
He was about to jump in when the hollow was about to smash Kon and Ichigo's body into paste when a red charm was thrown from behind Kon, forming a shield and protecting him from the hollow's grab. Arata stopped and looked at its thrower, his eyes widening slightly at the identity of the man.
It was Isshin Kurosaki! Ichigo, Karin, and Yuzu's father. He was wearing a soul reaper's shihakusho. What struck Arata even more was that he also came with a tattered white captain's haori but worn as a sash and over his left shoulder, the squad insignia unclear.
While he never sensed a bit of spiritual pressure from the man before, Arata wasn't so surprised at the reveal to be honest. He had heard the stories from Kisuke and Yoruichi about how Ichigo came to be soul reaper in the first place by gaining the powers from a soul reaper by the name of Rukia Kuchiki, Captain Byakuya Kuchiki's younger sister, yet he still held the opinion that there had to be a biological component at play as well. Judging by Isshin's appearance, he was right.
He introduced himself before he grabbed the red charm and tossed it to Kon. "Here Kon. Hold onto this" he said. He looked up in Arata direction and beckoned him down. "Ah, Arata. Good to see you" he greeted. "Come on down will you"
Arata descended down to the street and approached the Kurosaki patriarch until he was next to him. He eyed the hollow warningly, sending a shiver down his spine, with his hand on his sword at the ready. "So Ichigo got his soul reaper blood from you, huh?"
"With my dashing good looks too!" Isshin exclaimed childishly to Arata and Kon's unamusement.
Kon then questioned how the father knew he wasn't Ichigo with Isshin replying he knew it along since the first time they meant. It brought to light how intelligent and observant the normally child like man was, making Arata wonder what else this man had up his sleeve.
The hollow then slammed his fist into the ground causing a tremor to follow. "Now it makes sense. If his father is a soul reaper, then Ichigo Kurosaki is of true blood. In that case, I can understand how that little orange-hared bastard was able to defeat me"
Judging from the tone and contents of what he said, this hollow harbored resent towards his fellow deputy, Arata easily deduced. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm not really interested in you, Isshin. I came here tonight for one reason: to kill Ichigo Kurosaki. Since you're his father, you should know where he is. Bring me your son!" the hollow ordered.
However, despite the seriousness of his voice, Isshin bluntly replied, "I don't know where he is. It's not like he's a little kid who can't take care of himself. Plus, I always trust my kids and give them as much space as possible".
From what Arata had seen of Isshin's behavior towards his daughters, he disagreed with his last statement, and so did Kon as he then called him out on it. Isshin then began to explain the differences between Ichigo and his girls, drawing a deadpanned cloud from Arata. 'This is the Isshin I know' the hitokiri thought.
"Arata," Isshin called out. "I know you came here looking for a fight, but can I ask you to allow me to take this one? It would be a shame for me since I came out tonight to kill this hollow"
While he did not like that he wasn't gonna fight, Arata respects Isshin's wishes. The large hollow then began to bellow out in laughter, looking down on the soul reaper before him. "You came here to kill me?! And you're even going as far as to refuse help! Those are pretty big words for a puny little soul reaper! Hahahahaha!"
No matter how many times he saw it, it always exhausted Arata how people could look down on their opponents, like their hot shit or something. This hollow had power, but judging from what he could sense from the ex-captain, it was like comparing a child to an adult pro wrestler.
The hollow continued. "You might want to reconsider before you decide you should ask yourself if I look like an ordinary hollow! Watch". And with that, he transformed, turning bigger and growing horns on his shoulders.
While Kon was freaking out, Arata and Isshin stood completely calm, unbothered by the hollow's shift in size. "That-... That guy's freaking huge!" Kon exclaimed. "He's gotta be at least as big or bigger than that menos I saw before"
The hollow's face twist in annoyance at the mod soul's words as he said, "What do you mean 'menos'? How could you compare me with one of those weaklings?! No, I am-"
"An arrancar" Isshin cut in. "You're a group of hollows trying to obtain soul reaper powers by removing your masks. Isn't that right?" he smirked.
The concept was entirely new, yet not new to Arata. It was similar to the Visoreds and their situation, but instead they were soul reapers with hollow powers, not the other way around. They were two sides of the same coin, Arata thought.
Yet where did that leave him? He wasn't an arrancar, yet he wasn't much of a visored either. Was he one or the other, or a mix of both? These questions jumped in his mind as his powers were a unique circumstance than any other.
Unwillingly, the hollow confirms his answer. "Huh. Well, well. You're right. You're not as dumb as you look after all. However,". He then began to pull out his zanpakuto. "You're a fool, 'cause you know you can't win against my sword by yourself"
"That's a zanpakuto?! That thing is absolutely ginormous!" Kon freaked out, to which Arata agreed; the sword was like the size of a skyscraper!
"That's right! A zanpakuto's size equals the amount of one's spirit energy!" he proudly shouted to the heavens. "It is obvious that little weapon hanging limply by your side could never defeat my zanpakuto, moron!"
Arata scoffed. "You call that monstrosity a weapon?" the hitokiri mocked. "I've seen stronger from people a tenth your size"
"You dare mock me?! I swear, I will kill you after I end this Kurosaki fool!" the hollow screamed in anger.
"Is that so?" Isshin challenged. "Well then, why don't we find out!". He grabbed his sword, ready to draw.
"You know you can't win and you still persist? I thought soul reapers were supposed to know their own lore, but I guess I was wrong. In death, perhaps-"
"Can you just fight already?" Arata blurted. "I swear, you make the cartoons Orihime watch sound more entertaining than your voice"
"Bastard!" the hollow angerly bellowed. He swung his sword down to Arata, hoping to silence his insolent mouth... only to gape in shock when Arata caught the blade, his skin resistant to the sharpness. He pushes the blade up before jumping and kicking the blade even further up, making the hollow stumble back and almost drop his sword. "I-Impossible!"
Arata let out some of his spiritual pressure out as he addressed the hollow. "Your fight isn't with me, it is with him" he said pointing to Isshin. "Aim your sword at me again, and I will sever the arm it belonged to" he threatened.
"You better not run, because I will be cutting you down next" the hollow growled, still looking down at the soul reapers despite getting a taste of their power. He quickly turned to Isshin and aimed to shop him down. The soul reaper leaps up, drawing out his sword and met the hollow's zanpakuto.
The clash ended exactly as Arata thought: the hollow's blade sliced in half.
"Let me give you a little lesson on the basics: once a soul reaper reaches the level of captain, he then has the ability to control the size of his zanpakuto" Isshin informed before sheathing his sword. "They have to, because if they didn't, they all would be swinging around swords the size of skyscrapers. Kinda like you". And similar to teacher to his student, he said, "Remember this: you should never underestimate you opponent by the size of his zanpakuto"
A horizontal began to appear, cutting the hollow lethally. The behemoth fell, his eyes draining of life.
"Don't talk about soul reaper lore until you learned that"
"...Im-...possible...!" and with that, he disintegrated into nothing, along with his sword.
Arata approached Isshin. "Quite the power. Impressive"
Isshin grinned with child-like exuberance. "Thanks! I was afraid I lose my touch since I haven't been active for a long time but I still got!"
'Is this man bipolar?' Arata thought as he made the transition between stoic warrior to immature dad in less than a second.
"He just used one strike..." Kon said in awe to Ichigo's father's strength. It bewildered him even more as the mod soul then remembered his typical jovial attitude. In comparison to now, it was like he was looking at different person.
"Have you avenged her?" a new voice then chimed in. It was Urahara's voice as he walked up to the three men. "Has justice been meeded out?"
"'Justice'?" Arata muttered, intrigued. "What are you doing here, Urahara?" Arata then asked for everyone present.
"What? Can't a friendly shopkeeper visit an old friend and his new student?" Urahara joked. The surprises just kept piling as Arata realized Isshin Kurosaki and Kisuke Urahara knew each other.
"It isn't like you to act so civil, Kisuke" Isshin stated.
"Oh come now. I don't want you to blame me if your spirit energy withered away. That would be upsetting" Urahara replied.
Isshin dismissed the ex-captain's worries, assuring him he wouldn't have held a grudge in the first place. Urahara's grin did not lower as he then asked how it felt to be back in the saddle again after two decade, to which Isshin said it was fine.
"Do you feel better now?" Urahara then asked.
Isshin looked up, and sighed. "In some ways, yes. Truth is, I never held a grudge against that stupid hollow in the first place. If I'm being perfectly honest with myself, there's only one thing I really regretted over these last twenty years: And that was my lack of power. The fact that in spite of everything, I couldn't save Masaki that night"
So it was just as Arata suspected. From all the clues he heard, this hollow was the one that killed Ichigo, Karin, and Yuzu's mother, and by proxy, Isshin's wife. This was a justice he could relate to as he too killed off his loved one's killer, i.e his mother's rapist and killer.
He found his regret over his powerlessness relatable as well. Even though Arata did not let his past bother him now nor did he continue to blame himself for his mother's fate, but when he was a kid he used to curse himself every second of everyday for acting like a statue, for not acting when he clearly saw his mother hurting. He cried himself every night for the fear and cowardice he unfortunately showed. It was only when she was murdered did he finally act, but he was powerless all throughout and in his old mindset, that killed his mother just as the raider did.
Shock coursed through him when he realized how similar he and Ichigo actually were. Both lost their mothers from killers which they blame themselves for, they changed as a result, and became warriors. Differences being was what they fought for and who they had left in their life. Ichigo had his sisters and father while Arata left his dad and was alone until he met Sakura.
The shock persisted when he realized he could have ended up like Ichigo and vice versa.
"Hey Arata," Isshin called out. "You alright there? You've been silent for some time now"
"Hmmm? I'm fine" Arata looked up. "I suppose congratulations are in order. You avenged your wife. Quite impressive"
Isshin accepted Arata's words with a small smile. "I appreciate the words, Arata. Thanks"
Kisuke smiled and said, "Some things never change, huh? It seems your son is much like you in that regard" to which Isshin vehemently denied.
"While we're on the subject of your son, did you happen to notice...?" Urahara trailed off.
The ebony haired father immediately knew what he was talking about. "Yes. It appears they've made contact with him. Just as you suspected they would"
"You guys are talking about the Visored, aren't you? Ex-soul reapers with abilities and masks of hollows"
Kisuke and Isshin turn to Arata when he said the blunt statement. "You're correct. And considering you know them, They contacted you as well?"
"That they did" Arata confirmed. "You may be quick-witted and intelligent, Urahara, but I don't think hollow powers are your forte"
Urahara took Arata words with a smile. "That they aren't unfortunately" he chuckled.
The weighty atmosphere did not dissipate around Isshin though. "They're unknowns and kept themselves completely hidden. They're obviously dangerous, but at the moment, the only thing I do know is that they and the arrancars aren't working together"
"That's hopeful. We don't need our enemies forming alliances. In one way, we're lucky. The Visoreds don't trust any soul reaper, former or otherwise" Urahara added. He turns to Arata with a serious grin. "But I guess you already figured that out, Arata?"
Arata confirmed the shopkeeper's statement. "They tried to persuade me to their side, but we settled on a mutually beneficial deal"
"In spite of their hatred for soul reapers, they've made contact with you and Ichigo. That must mean they-" Urahara siad until Isshin finished for him.
"Yeah, if they're willing to go to those lengths, they must be preparing for some sort of battle. Just like we are"
The thought brought tremendous glee to the hitokiri at the thought of more great fights, yet he was left curious who each side were fighting and why? Was Sosuke Aizen involved too?
"The only explanation can be that they must've noticed the sudden change in the arrancars as well" Isshin theorized. He and Kisuke then went on about the surprising development in arrancars and their power, surprising Kon and Arata. Isshin concluded that the cause must be Sosuke Aizen forming a pact with the hollows in hopes of creating better arrancars using the Hogyoku, probably to form an army equal enough to combat the thirteen court guard squads and take over the world.
"How do we fight back?" Isshin questioned aloud.
"Isn't it obvious?" Arata said. "We prepare for war. Man the troops, sharpen our skills, and grow stronger until the real fighting begins"
"I'm in agreement with you, Arata. With the situation the way it is, everyone will be mobilizing for war, friend and foe alike. You, me, Isshin, the Visoreds, and not to mention the Soul Society"
Having been born in a universe practically flooding with war and conflict, Arata was fully prepared for the incoming storm, already knowing exactly what he is gonna do. He was never a soldier, but he did "serve" for the Dawn Empire in a sense that he took care of the riff raff and criminals so that the already spreadly thin military wouldn't have to. In the end though, he still did his own thing, being a mercenary and hitokiri, getting stronger and spilling the blood of criminals. And that's exactly what he's gonna do.
A hitch in Arata's spiritual sensing caught his attention, recognizing it as Ichigo's. Everyone agreed to split before things got messy. Kon and Arata agreed to stay silent on the matter of Isshin's identity and went back home.
Arata leaped from building to building back to Orihime's home, he was stopped by Isshin who looked like he wanted to say something. "What is it?"
"Did you know the Visoreds were going to contact my son?"
Arata nodded. "I had a hunch they planned to bring him into the fold, but it was only until today did they confirm my suspicions"
"I see..." Isshin replied, pondering after for a moment until he chuckled.
"What's so funny?"
"Oh nothing really. It's just... I thought back to the first time you came to our house and when you said you were a runaway" Isshin said.
"You... found my circumstances humorous?" Arata slowly said, trying to make sense of the man's words.
Isshin immediately denied saying, "Oh god no. Never have and never will. I was just imagining something pertaining to Masaki". He then smiled warmingly at the memory of his late wife. "If your and her paths somehow crossed, Masaki would've adopted you into our family. Her heart was always brimming with love like that"
"I see... from how you speak of her, she seems to be a kind woman. I understand why you and your family still ache from her death". In the beginning, when he ran away from home, Arata pleaded for families to take him in as he wasn't used to living by himself; he was only five at the time. But they never did, and he could understand why as they had their own families and interest to look after, but it pained him every time he was rejected. That is, until Sakura came.
"Why are you telling me this?" Arata inquired.
"Me and Masaki had three children, and you saw each and every one of them. Yuzu and Karin will always have their big brother and old man to lean on, but since Masaki's passing, Ichigo hasn't had many people he could lean on. If you were adopted as Kurosaki, you would've been the big brother Ichigo could lean on" the Kurosaki patriarch chuckled.
The statement was so outrageous, Arata was speechless. Him in an older brother role? He's never had any sibling to begin with and Sakura did not take any more students after him so he couldn't fathom himself in such a place. It didn't even make sense why Isshin was putting him in such a place.
"Explain" Arata requested.
Isshin nodded, seeing the confusion in Arata's dark eyes. "One way or another, the Visoreds are gonna get my son to join them in some capacity. Since you're in with them, I'm asking you to look after my son"
"... You do realize my type of character, correct?" Arata questioned as he was now well aware of his hidden insightful side.
"More than you think" Isshin replied simply. He knew very well what kind of man Arata was and the actions he took, but he still trusted the man regardless. "You're a man with his fair share of secrets and his own load of dirty laundry, some of which I don't personally agree with, yet you're a good man overall, Arata. A good man just covered in blood. I trust you'll guide him down the right path in your own Arata way" he chuckled slightly at the end. He turned to leave but was stopped when Arata said one last thing.
"You know, he doesn't like me so much. It'll be hard to find common ground with him"
"You were able to beat Kenpachi Zaraki. I'm sure a fifteen year old kid won't give you too much trouble" he grinned before he leaped home.
Arata scoffed. "When he's as stubborn as me, I highly doubt that". Truthfully, he did not know whether he would bother helping the boy. He had a fast growing potential Arata felt did not need his helping. Plus he will have the Visoreds, so he won't have a use.
But the thought of being a brother of sorts lingered. The kinship he and Ichigo had was hard to deny which made Arata want to see him succeed even more.
"Ugh" he groaned. "If he messes up that badly, I suppose I'll step in" he said to himself.
Hitokiri though grinned.
Arata nii-chan!
1.) Omake: Honored Warriors Illustrated Picture Book
During Arata's long break, he took the time to visit the Soul Society to settle out his salary. He was immediately pointed to squad thirteen and its captain.
After a long discussion, Arata and Captain Ukitake, settled on a salary higher than the average soul reaper but lower than that of a lieutenant.
"I'm surprised this matter took so long. I would have imagined you already talked about this with Ichigo" Arata comments as Ukitake was organizing the paperwork. The white hair captain sheepishly looked away when he said this.
"Actually... I never discussed a salary with Ichigo" Ukitake admitted.
"Wait... does he even know he can get paid from this?"
"I would imagine he would be aware, but it's hard to say really" the captain chuckled.
"So you're basically getting free labor from a fifteen year old?"
An uncomfortable silence engulf the room, and after a minute, Ukitake spoke up. "You wouldn't mind bringing Ichigo here to for a talk, do you?" Ukitake nervously chuckled.
2.) Omake: Honored Warriors Illustrated Picture Book
Eito and his band of delinquents took Arata's advice to heart and decided to take school more seriously. They were still rebellious but managed to keep their noses clean well. Their cleaner behavior definietely shocked their classmates and especially their teachers.
However, the image of Arata and Unohana stuck in their minds, compelling them to go to Orihime as they heard she and Arata were related. To satiate their curiosity, they were blunt to the otherwise airheaded girl.
"Orihime," Eito started. "Is your cousin a cougar hunter?" he asked with a perverted blush on his face.
However, Orihime's innocence and obliviousness shined. "'A cougar hunter'? I don't know really but I wouldn't be surprised; Arata has always loved a challenge"
"REALLY?" the two other boys gaped. One of them, Eiji, then asked, "H-How many do you think he's bagged?"
Orihime shrugged before reaching for her lunch. "No clue. Maybe over a hundred?"
'A HUNDRED?!'
From that point onward, to Arata's and Orihime's confusion, and to their friends disbelief, Arata has been dubbed "the cougar hunter" by most of the student body.
