HALCYON DAYS
Volume Five: Drowned in the Rain
Chapter One

"Grand Fisher?" Ichigo repeated, his eyes glinting with hatred at the name. "What do you mean he's gotten stronger?"

"There have been a concentration of Hollow attacks that all fit his pattern: human women murdered during rainfall," Rukia recounted. "Last week, a Shinigami named Saidō Eikichirō was dispatched to investigate one of the crime scenes. He was an expert on Grand Fisher; the first and only Shinigami to fight him and survive until you came along. However, he disappeared during his investigation and is now feared dead."

"Isn't Grand Fisher one of your biggest repeat offenders?" Ichigo murmured. "How's any of this different than before?"

"He eluded us for 54 years because he was careful and selective with his targets," Rukia explained. "He would go weeks at a time between consuming souls, but this recent string of murders is an escalation. We believe he's become emboldened."

"He was pretty tough when we fought, but I think I'd make short work of him now," Ichigo said.

"That may very well be true, but SDRI believes he's gotten exponentially stronger since you last fought," Rukia said.

"How'd that happen? Has he been carb-loading on souls or something?"

"No," Rukia shook her head. "He would have to consume thousands of humans to make any dramatic improvement. However, there is another way for a Hollow to attain greater strength: Arrancarization."

Ichigo cocked an eyebrow. Arrancarization?

"Alright. What's an Arrancar?"

"Hollows who have removed their masks."

For dramatic effect, she palmed her face and slid her fingers away with a whoosh!

"It would take decades of study for you to understand the science, but the short and sweet explanation is that breaking their masks brings them closer to the existence of a Shinigami. The transformation yields a fearsome power boost."

"Hollows can become more like Shinigami?" Ichigo grimaced while thinking about the inverse of that equation. He could hear Shinji's voice whispering from the back of his mind.

You ain't a Shinigami anymore, Ichigo. You're a Visored.

"Wait, how come I've never fought one of these Arrancar before?" he asked.

"They're exceedingly rare, at least outside of their home world," Rukia answered. "Most Hollows never become self-aware enough to initiate the ritual. Those who do are few in number, and fewer still have any interest in the Material World. In fact, it's extremely unusual for a career Hollow like Grand Fisher to even destroy his mask."

"How come?"

"Because only the Menos Grande can successfully complete Arrancarization," Rukia said. "The natural evolution of a Hollow is to eat their own kind until they become a Gillian, the same type of Menos you fought after Ishida baited the Hollows."

"Oh, I gotcha," Ichigo nodded. "It's like what Afro-san said: they turn from a Gillian into a... um, what do ya call them? Hadouken?"

"Adjuchas," Rukia corrected him. "Who is Afro-san?"

"The new patrolman around here. He's a real pain; thinks he's my boss."

"Oh, Zennosuke? I didn't know he went by Afro-san..."

"Don't get sidetracked."

"As I was saying, the Gillian are the most numerous and mindless of the Menos. They're like foot soldiers, really."

Ichigo's expression dropped, remembering the 500-foot tall titan he had struggled against previously. That thing was just a foot soldier?!

"Each Gillian functions as an instinctual hive mind, teeming with all the competing impulses of the Hollows they've consumed," Rukia said. "When one personality subsumes the others and solidifies control, they evolve into an Adjuchas, a far smarter and stronger Menos who can order the Gillian around.

"They're also more humanlike than the monsters you've seen, which makes Arrancarization feasible. However, career Hollows like Grand Fisher avoid becoming a Menos altogether. They grow too attached to their identity and fear losing it to another personality during the transition from Gillian to Adjuchas."

"So Grand Fisher's leveled up while skipping the usual steps?" Ichigo surmised. "I've dabbled in cheat codes myself. What's this all mean for him?"

"It means he's become incredibly unstable," Rukia said. "His current evolution cannot handle the transformation. How do I put this? By tearing off his mask, he has upset the balance between his Hollowfied self and the Plus he began as when he departed his human body. Unless he starts consuming enough Hollows to become a Menos, he will soon fall prey to Soul Suicide."

Ichigo scooted a bit closer, his brow furrowed with interest. "What's that?"

"Do you recall the Balance of Souls?" Rukia asked rhetorically, interconnecting her arms and wobbling them to illustrate the tilting of a scale. "The same imbalance that would collapse the universe can happen within a Soul as well. When a Hollow Arrancarizes without the stability of a Menos body, they risk self-destruction. Put simply, he will explode and be snuffed from the Cycle of Rebirth forever. It is a permanent end."

Ichigo imagined Grand Fisher immolating into nothingness. He liked the sound of that.

"Well then just let the problem sort itself out," he hand waved. "Let that bastard pop. I can't think of a more fitting karma for him."

"I know you wish to see him suffer, Ichigo, but please consider the bigger picture," Rukia said ruefully. "Grand Fisher has eaten many souls. When he succumbs to Soul Suicide, all of those lives will be expunged from the Cycle along with him."

Ichigo's eyes widened, his breath catching in his throat. You mean?...

"Souls like my Mom?"

"Yes," Rukia nodded. "But if we slay Grand Fisher before he succumbs to Soul Suicide, your mother and all of the other humans he has murdered will finally pass onto Soul Society and start anew."

"But if he blows up first, her soul will vanish along with him?" Ichigo murmured fretfully, horrified by the thought. "Well then what are we waiting for? Let's go kill him."

"Excellent!" Rukia grinned, smacking her palm over fist. "We have little time to waste. Let's venture to Kagamino City immediately!"

Ichigo's determined expression dropped into a perplexed frown. "We have to go all the way to Kagamino City?"

"Why yes. That's where Grand Fisher's been carrying out his latest attacks."

Ichigo turned gloomy, looking very put off.

"... I've never been that far before."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I've never left Karakura Town before..."

Rukia blinked in astonishment before breaking into a guffaw, her laughter mingling with a snort.

"Bwahaha! Ichigo, you mean you've traversed more of Soul Society than your own world? How incurious are you?"

"It's just not my comfort zone, alright?!"

"Well, if you wish to help me pursue Grand Fisher, we will have to push past your comfort zone," Rukia nodded ruefully. "Think you can do that?"

"Yeah, fine," Ichigo grumbled. "People might notice if I'm off the grid for that long, though. Wait... I don't need to be in my bodyto go to Kagamino City with you, right?"

"No, you don't. In fact, your Shinigami form would be preferable."

Ichigo grinned triumphantly. He walked over to his wardrobe dresser and pounded on the top drawer.

"Yo, Kon! Wake up."

The drawer slotted open and Kon peeked out, drowsily rubbing his button eyes with plushie paws.

"Sheesh, what is it?" the Mod Soul yawned. He looked up at an expectant Ichigo, then glanced over and saw Rukia. Suddenly, he was wide awake. "RUKIA-CHAN!" the plushie squealed, his button eyes shining with adoration. "Oh, how I've missed that vertical slope!"

He sprung out from the shelf and dove straight for the embrace of Rukia's chest. Ichigo caught him in mid-air and gave a disapproving squeeze.

"Get a grip, sicko. I've got an assignment for you."

He promptly emptied Kon's soul candy from the doll and gobbled it up. He burst out from his human body and into his Shinigami form, with Kon now occupying the flesh suit.

"Rukia and I are gonna be off on important business, so I need you to hold down the fort. You're gonna play sick today; if anyone so much as knocks on my bedroom door, pretend you're laid out and bedridden."

"Sounds pretty boring," Kon groaned, plopping down onto Ichigo's bed and running a hand through his spiky hair. "Why can't we ever switch bodies when you've got a hot date or something?"

"Just do your job, alright?" Ichigo frowned. "And if I find out you've left the house to go bouncing around again, I'm gonna junk the lion and stick you in a rubber duckie or something, got it?"

Rukia gave the Mod Soul a polite nod. "It's nice to see you again, Kon."

"Yeah, nice seeing you, too. How's about you take me with you back to Soul Society this time? Ichigo's a cruddy roommate."

"I'm afraid that'd be unsafe," Rukia replied. "You'd immediately be destroyed by SDRI if they learned of your existence."

Kon turned pale and flopped back down onto the bed with resignation. "Alright, you two have fun on your world-saving shenanigans or whatever."

Ichigo and Rukia phased out of the bedroom and leapt down onto the street below. Kon waited a full 20 seconds, looked out the window to confirm that they had indeed left, and sprung out of the bed. He whistled absentmindedly while he burst out from Ichigo's bedroom, stomped down the staircase and strode into the Kurosaki household's living room.

He leapt onto the couch and grabbed the TV remote, flipping through channels until he came upon a soap opera starring beautiful, busty women. With a contented sigh, he nestled back into the couch cushions.

Yuzu poked her head out from the kitchen.

"Good morning, nii-chan!" she said. "I'm making myself an omelette. Would you like one, too?"

"Yes." Kon gave a serene nod. "Yes I would."


After trotting two blocks away from the Kurosaki household, Rukia ushered Ichigo into an alleyway where a mysterious vehicle rested beneath a tarp. A shadowy figure about Rukia's height stood beside it, leaning against the brick wall. The stranger was wearing a downturned ball cap, obscuring their face.

"What's this then?" Ichigo asked, motioning to the tarp and then to the stranger. "And who are you?"

The mysterious figure straightened up, marched right up to Ichigo and gave an erudite bow.

"Nice to meet you, Kurosaki-san, Hop!" a familiar voice said with absolute formality. "I am Chappy, Hop!"

The stranger rose back upright and lifted her ball cap, revealing a pair of violet eyes and a bangle of black hair. Ichigo toppled over in surprise, staring at a complete dead ringer for Rukia.

"Whoa! Rukia, is this your long-lost twin or something?"

"Bwahaha!" Rukia guffawed in a husky tenor. "No, you fool. This is Chappy, the most popular Gikon manufactured in the Seireitei. She's keeping my new Gigai warm during this mission, and she'll be our driver for today."

Chappy strode over to the tarp and, with a pirouette flourish, whipped the cover off to reveal a gleaming motorcycle.

Ichigo's eyes bulged from his head while he beheld the absolute beauty: a silver Yamaha FZR600, polished to the upmost spiffiness and fitted with a bulky sidecar.

"Whoa, where'd you get such a sick rocket?" he stammered.

"It has a pretty amusing origin, actually." Rukia scratched her chin while she reminisced. "Lieutenant Hisagi brought it back from the World of the Living several years ago. He got into a bit of trouble for riding it around the Seireitei, but our superiors deemed it worth safekeeping in case we needed to travel around in the Material Realm. This motorcycle will get us to Kagamino City in a reasonable amount of time and help us conserve our strength."

"Sweet!" Ichigo grinned devilishly, reaching for the handles. "I've always wanted to drive one of these –"

"Ichigo!" Rukia swatted his hands away like a schoolmarm. "You're not of driving age! Besides, it would alarm pedestrians if they saw this bike puttering around with a driver invisible to the human eye. Do you want Don Kanonji raving about a haunted motorcycle on his television program?"

Ichigo scowled at her, his right temple throbbing with annoyance. "But it's a friggin' FZR600. You actually wanna hand those reins over to an Artificial Soul?"

"Chappy is licensed to operate up to 18 varieties of vehicle, one of the many skillsets that make her the most prized soul candy," Rukia explained. "She will drive, I will sit behind her... and you will ride along in the sidecar."

"WHAT?!" Ichigo shouted indignantly. "You wanna stick me in the kiddy chair? Have you already forgotten that time I rescued you from certain death?"

"I am returning the favor by adhering to the rules of the road," Rukia grinned. "Hop in, Ichigo."

Chappy patted the sidecar invitingly.

"Yes, please hop in, Kurosaki-san. Hop!"