Fearless
The sight of Yolei Inue brought back a thousand memories to Uryū's mind. All their adventures in the Digital World spilled back into his consciousness as he watched her talk to Orihime. Had it really been four years since he'd seen her?
Time had gone by so fast, or did it seem to crawl by at an agonizing pace? He wasn't sure anymore. Uryū shrugged, it depended on the month and the day. Sometimes, time moved forward in a cohesive blur where events were a muddled, distorted mess. But other times, time decided to torture him by lollygagging around like a lazy bum on a street corner, and if time itself wanted to be exceptionally frustrating, it would creep at a pace so slow it seemed that there would be no end to that hour or day.
Certain days went more slowly than others, such as…unpleasant anniversaries. Unfortunately, Uryū had plenty of those days to remember, so much more than others. He had not lost one or two, not three but four family members.
First there was his grandfather and sensei, Sōken Ishida, who had been killed by Hollows when Uryū had come to visit him one day. He had been hiding behind a tree, too afraid to fight, hoping and praying that the Soul Reapers who regularly kept his grandfather under surveillance would arrive to defeat the Hollows. Instead he had watched in horors as Hollows defeated Sōken and as the Soul Reapers arrived too late to save him. Only later did he learn that Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Captain of the 12th Division of Soul Reapers had bribed the two Soul Reapers watching Sōken to let him die so he could harvest his soul for his research.
Then his older brother, the brilliant genius of the family, Sam Ishida, had died after being struck by a car as he was coming home from school. It was the same day that Uryū had wished out of jealousy that he would "just disappear", for years he blamed himself for Sam's death, only with the help of the other Digidestined did he learn to accept that there were some things in life he just couldn't control. But just when his life seemed to be on track his mother had died of a heart attack after he moved away from his friends, which shocked the family since she had appeared to be in perfect health.
Then there was Wormmon, loyal, faithful Wormmon. His Digimon partner and best friend for his short life. The death of Wormmon had been a crushing blow to him; it had altered his personality completely. He still retained his kindness, as it was an innate part of who he was. However, he became more and more cynical as the years went by. He was also angry and bitter, because Wormmon did not die at the hands of a Digimon.
Uryū visibly sighed and wiped his forehead, trying put thoughts of his deceased friend out of his mind. Just thinking about Wormmon made him sad, though he would never show it in front of other people, they wouldn't understand. The Digidestined knew that Wormmon had been killed; they had all sensed his grief and Wormmon's agony as he died. He had never explained the circumstances of Wormmon's death but he had said that the Digimon had been murdered.
Normally, when Digimon "died" they were reconfigured and reborn. But Wormmon would never be reconfigured and reborn until…
Uryu narrowed his eyes and gave an angry grunt that was barely audible to others. He knew what he had to do; he did it every year on the anniversary of Wormmon's death. He scoured the town, searching and searching, but to no avail. His target eluded him.
…Wormmon would never be reconfigured until Uryū caught and killed the Hollow that had murdered and devoured Wormmon right before his eyes as his friend fiercely fought to protect him.
"Don't worry Uryū, he might have killed me, but I'll come back to you, no matter what. I promise."
That was physically impossible; the Hollow had eaten Wormmon alive. He could still hear the Digimon's agonized screams. By the time he had gotten to his feet, the Hollow was gone, claiming sadistically that the he was too full to eat Uryū. Later he theorized that if he killed the Hollow that had eaten Wormmon he might be able to release the Digimon's data back into the real world. But he had never been able to test that theory, for obvious reasons.
Sighing, he turned his attention back to his schoolwork. He had to get his mind off the past and stay in the present. There wasn't any use for mulling over events that had happened so long ago. Wormmon had been dead for two years and there was no changing that.
After the school day was over, Uryū found himself loitering around in the halls, waiting for the inevitable confrontation between himself and Yolei Inue.
He saw her walking down the hall, textbooks in hand. She gave him a knowing glance and he nodded.
"We need to talk somewhere. Privately. Others…won't understand."
"I know that. There's a park a short distance from here. We'll walk there."
They began walking down the hallway. Orihime saw them and noticed as she saw her cousin take Uryū's hand in her own. Her eyes went wide but she didn't even get the chance to say anything as they passed by her.
Something was going on. Something Uryū wasn't telling them. Two complete strangers didn't hold hands after they'd just met. Only close friends did that. She had to wonder, when did Yolei meet Uryū?
Orihime decided to follow them, but kept her distance; she stayed close enough to hear some of their conversation.
"How are you doing in school…Uryū?" Yolei asked. Orihime noted that her cousin acted like she wasn't used to saying his name, as if she had called him by another name when she had known him. She wasn't too far from the truth either.
"I'm doing fine," he replied, his voice didn't have the serious edge it usually did when he spoke to people he didn't know. He acted like they'd known each other for years.
"I'm not surprised. I saw your scores on the tests. Still on top of your game. You were always a genius, even when you were Ken Ichijouji."
"My life as Ken Ichijouji doesn't matter now. It's all in the past. So why do you keep bringing it up?" he asked, exasperated.
Orihime frowned. Who was Ken Ichijouji? The name sounded familiar. Yolei was clearly implying that Uryū had at one time been this Ken Ichijouji. But if that was true, then why had Uryū lived under a fake name? Then the realization hit her. Yolei didn't know about Uryū's Quincy powers. Perhaps that was why he had changed his name, so that the Soul Reapers wouldn't be able to track him.
"It's not like I know you anymore, Ken, and I will call you Ken because it's what I've called you for years, and you're just going to have to live with that."
"It's Uryū Ishida now," he said. "Ken Ichijouji doesn't exist anymore."
"If I told Matt your last name he might think you're a relative," she joked. Matt Ishida was one of the older Digidestined, and although not very close with Ken they all had been very good friends, the younger and older Digidestined. She noticed he didn't laugh at the joke about his last name. She had never seen him laugh at all even though they had only been reunited for a short time.
She looked at him. "Wormmon's death changed you. You're not the same boy I once knew. What happened to you?" She gave him a hard glance. "Please…I want to understand."
"You wouldn't understand, Yolei. We can't continue talking about this. Not here. Let's go." They headed out the door. Orihime was about to follow them when she heard Ichigo call out to her.
"Orihime! Where are you going?" he asked. Chad and Rukia were with him.
"I'm following Uryū and Yolei to the park," she replied.
"Well it seems they became friends pretty fast," Ichigo observed. "That's not normal for Uryū, he's usually a loner. It was awhile before we became friends and here he strikes up an instant friendship with your cousin."
"For some reason, I think they know each other. Does the name "Ken Ichijouji" mean anything to you?"
Ichigo shook his head. "I've never heard of that guy. Why do you ask?"
"Yolei…she kept calling him "Ken Ichijouji". I think Uryū changed his name to keep the Soul Reapers from finding him."
"But that doesn't make any sense. Uryū told me that when the Hollows killed his grandfather that the man was under constant surveillance by Soul Reapers. It's not like they couldn't find Uryū."
"Maybe," Rukia noted. "But if the family legally changed their names it might be harder to track, even though the Soul Society doesn't care much about those things, but if they did go by another name it would make searching for them difficult but why they stopped watching the Ishida's is a mystery. Maybe the Soul Society thought that Quincies were not a threat anymore."
"Hurry, Uryū said that he and Yolei were going to the park." Orihime gestured to the door. The others followed her outside and they headed to a park near the school. It was the same park where Uryū and Ichcigo had participated in a contest to see who could destroy the most Hollows.
The small group tried to keep Uryū and Yolei within earshot without alerting them to their presence, which seemed completely ridiculous due to the fact that Ichigo's spiritual pressure was so high, Rukia had no doubt that Uryū knew they were there.
"You said there was a reason your family had to change their names. What was it? Are you guys in danger or something?"
"It's very complicated Yolei," he sighed. "Tell me something Yolei. Have you ever sensed things, things you couldn't see and had the feeling that something was following you, even when there wasn't anyone there?"
"Well…I'm not sure, but…I have seen these…monsters. They're not like Digimon at all. They keep saying things about eating souls. You must think I'm crazy."
"When did you start seeing them?" She had just confirmed what he had suspected. Even four years ago, he had sensed her high spirit energy, just as he had sensed it in all the Digidestined he had spent time with, it was much more noticeable in his close friends than with the others he had met. Perhaps that was why they could see the Digimon before any of the adults could. The Digidestined had always been special children.
"You've been awfully quiet Poromon; don't you have anything to say?" Uryū addressed the Digimon for the first time. The others wondered what he could possibly be talking to when they saw a small round creature pop out of the back of Yolei's backpack.
"What is that?" Ichigo managed to ask in a whisper. It was all he could do to keep from shouting out his question.
"I'm surprised you knew he was in there," Yolei laughed.
"I know you, you wouldn't go anywhere without your Digimon, would you?" Uryū sighed. "That still hasn't changed. None of us ever went anywhere without them."
"Hello Ken," Poromon squeaked out. "It's been a long time. I like your new look." The Digimon was referring to Uryū's spectacles, which he had not worn while he was with the Digidestined.
"Why thank you," he smiled slightly. "But it's not Ken anymore, it's Uryū." Ichigo was a little surprised. Uryū wasn't one to smile much.
"Please, accept my condolences about Wormmon. He was a good friend too. We used to spend so much time together…" Poromon sighed.
"Yeah, raiding my refrigerator," Yolei laughed.
"Those were good times," Poromon chimed in.
"How long has it been since he was died?" Yolei asked.
"Two years," Uryū replied.
"You told me once that something killed him," Yolei said. "What did you mean by that?"
"Those creatures, the ones that you can see; the ones who talk about eating souls, they're called Hollows, and one of them…killed Wormmon. Right in front of me."
"Uryū, I'm sorry," Yolei said, putting her hand on his shoulder.
"Please Uryū, you must tell me something, how long have you known about these things?" she asked, adding, "And tell me the truth."
"I've known about Hollows all my life," he replied. "Even during elementary school in Tamachi."
"But what are Hollows? Are they like Digimon?" Yolei asked.
"No, they aren't like Digimon; they are the spirits of the departed souls who remain attached to the world of the living. They become angry and start to attack the living. They're monsters that only people with high spirit energy can see."
"And you fight these…Hollows," Yolei looked thoughtful. "So that's why you began making weird excuses to slip away while you were with us."
"Yes. You don't seem surprised by all this."
"Why should I be? We're Digidestined, we were always special. Why should the existence of a spirit world surprise me?"
"I'll tell you something very few people know about me. I'm no ordinary human. I am a Quincy. We were a tribe of people who could see spirits and Hollows. We could control spirit energy and used it to battle Hollows."
She looked at him. "What happened to the Quincies? You said they were a tribe, but there aren't any now?"
"They were wiped out by Soul Reapers, a group of spirit beings who helped departed souls cross over to the Soul Society, the afterlife. They believed that we upset the balance of spirits going to and from this world, because we destroyed Hollows instead of cleansing them, like they did. But that was a long time ago. I am the last Quincy. There aren't any left."
"It sounds horrible that another group would want to wipe your people out just because they have a different way of doing things."
"It doesn't matter, that was a long time ago." He sighed. "I must say, I'm surprised you're here. What brought you to Karakura Town?"
My parents decided to move here to open another store. After the first one closed because of lack of customers they figured a new location would be better."
"I see. That's nice Yolei. You all can come out now. I know you're all there. Ichigo made it obvious you were here, with all of his spirit energy that he has. I can sense him miles away."
"Alright Uryū, what's all this about? And how exactly do you know Orihime's cousin?"
"We've known each other since middle school…" so he told them everything. The Digimon, the Digital World. MaloMyotismon. All of it. Everyone seemed very interested.
"So this Digimon you said you had, Wormmon. A Hollow killed it," Ichigo said. "is there any chance you could get him back?"
"I'm not sure, I have a theory that since Digimon are made of data they can't be absorbed like normal souls so there's a slim chance that he's still inhabiting the Hollow that killed him. I think that if I kill it I can get Wormmon back, but I think it'll be some time before I can do that though."
"Why's that?" Rukia asked. She'd never heard of Digimon and they fascinated her. The thought that creatures who were alive yet didn't have souls like normal humans astonished her. Poromon was a wonder. The Digimon didn't have spirit energy yet it was alive and breathing like any other creature.
"Every year I've searched for that Hollow on the anniversary of Wormmon's death and I've not been able to find him."
"We'll help you if we can, Uryū," Orihime volunteered.
"Yeah, I'd like to meet Wormmon. From the way you talk about him it sounds as if you two were really good friends, besides, I've been itching for some action. There's just been no Hollow activity around here in awhile."
"Wormmon wasn't just my friend, he was the best friend I ever had, and I won't stop until his death is avenged. If I can't get Mayuri for what he did to my grandfather, I can and will avenge Wormmon."
"I know that the moment you say that my Soul Pager will go off telling me there's a Hollow in the area."
Sure enough, as soon as the words left her mouth, her Soul Pager began beeping.
"We've got a Hollow alert," she informed them. They all nodded.
"I'm going with you," Yolei said.
Uryū turned to her. "No," he said flatly. "There's no way I'm letting you go into that kind of danger. We have the ability to battle Hollows. You don't and I know from personal experience that not even your Digimon can protect you. I've lost Wormmon, not once but twice. I don't want that to happen to you."
" I know, but one of the reasons I'm not surprised at what you've told me about this Soul Society and Soul Reapers is because I think I've seen one."
"What?" Ichigo stared at her. "Well I do have a way to prove it."
He removed his Substitute Soul Reaper badge from his pocket and slammed it against his chest. His body slumped over on the ground as he stepped out in his Soul Reaper shihaksho.
"Yes, I have seen Soul Reapers before, there was a man I saw dressed in an outfit and he had short spiky white hair and carried a sword, although it was a lot smaller than that."
"That's Toshiro Hitsugaiya Captain of Squad Ten," Ichigo said.
"We have to go now," Rukia said. "It won't be long before the Hollow starts devouring souls."
"All the same, I'm coming with you," Yolei said. "And no one's going to stop me from going, not even Uryū."
"We have to let her come, she'll haunt me to my grave if I don't let her. She never cares about the risks, she does what she has to do."
Ichigo gave her a hard look. "All right then, but don't say we didn't warn you. What you're getting into isn't kids stuff."
"I figured that much. But I'll help you if I can."
So exit the fall and now it's over
you're letting it fall before your heart
so exit the fall and now it's over
you're letting it fall before your heart