Ch. 3: The Protector
Ichigo raced to the nearby district of Yumisawa as quickly as he could. Using the reishi in the air, the teen sprinted through the skies at high speed. A small smirk appeared on his face as he thought, "Finally! It's about time something showed up. Too bad I wasn't finished with my lunch. Uryu better not get any ideas."
A few yards behind him, Nemu was following the teenage shinigami. In order to keep a low profile, the young woman stayed closer to the ground and hid her reiatsu . Even with her attention on her target, the lieutenant leaped on light posts, telephone poles, and rooftops with stunning ease and grace. "Subject Kurosaki is en route to the location of the hollow disturbance," she wrote in her book. "It would appear that he has excelled in the basic application of hoho."
After the five minute dash, Ichigo had arrived at the Yumisawa Children's Park. The teen surveyed his surroundings for any hollows, but the place seemed deserted. Nemu was perched on a nearby rooftop. She watched over the strawberry-haired warrior's position, but even she was unable to detect any enemies. "How odd," the lieutenant thought before pulling out her Soul Phone. She pressed a few commands on her device and read the records of recent hollow appearances. "This was where the signal originated. Was it a faux reading? Or have the enemies already fled?"
Suddenly, a small whimper caught Ichigo's attention. The teen turned to the jungle gym and saw a child soul running to the makeshift cage. It was a young boy seemingly 6 years of age. He had black hair, a red shirt with a bear on its back, yellow and blue pants, and a chain of fate dangling from his chest. Tears streamed from his cheeks as he sat with his arms wrapped around his legs. Just looking at him, it was clear to Ichigo that the child was petrified with fear. Wanting to help the boy, Ichigo walked over to the child. "Hey," he called as he knelt down to the soul's level and rested his arms on the equipment's bars. "Is something wrong?" The little boy didn't respond to the question, causing Ichigo to sigh. "What's your name, little guy?"
"I'm Arata…"
"Arata, huh? That's a nice name. I'm Ichigo."
"Ichigo?" Arata repeated between breaths. "That's a… weird name? Isn't that usually for girls?"
Ichigo held back a warning glare. Since the boy was young and he knew that children his age said the darnest things, the orange-haired teen decided to let it slide. "So Arata. What's wrong? Are you sad because you died? I know it's scary, but-"
"It's not that," Arata interrupted. "It's because… those scary monsters…" the kid said between his chokes. "They… ate my mommy and daddy…"
Ichigo's eyes widened in shock from the kid's announcement. He knew how it felt to watch a parent's soul get taken. When he was a child, he witnessed the death of his mother by the renegade hollow known as Grand Fisher. However, seeing both parents get murdered in front of your eyes meant you pretty much lost everything. "I'm… sorry to hear that," the substitute shinigami said regretfully.
"I wish… I wish I could've done something… But I… I…" The child broke down and began crying once more.
"Damn it! I should've gotten the call earlier! Was that bastard Grand Fisher behind this?" Feeling anger, dread, and guilt, Ichigo's grip tightened around the bars. Due to his strength he was unknowingly bending and squeezing the metal. The teen then turned to Arata and saw the young boy freeze in horror. After all, the strawberry-haired teen was breaking into the child's makeshift safe house. "Sorry about that," Ichigo apologized. "And I'm sorry to hear what happened. My mom was also killed by those things." The teen stood up with Arata watching his every move. "I promise I'll make those hollows pay for what they've done."
Suddenly, small rifts began to open around the males' location. Ichigo stood his ground and eyed them warily, his large zanpakuto held in front of his body in preparation for the unwanted visitors. Arata shivered in fright, remembering that his parents' killers came from similar rifts. On the roof, Nemu's eyes widened as she watched the portals expand. "An ambush," the lieutenant noted. "Such level of strategy is unheard of for instinct-driven hollows."
Blood-curdling roars began to echo through the park as numerous hollows emerged from the portals. Pushing themselves out of the distortions, the beasts surrounded Ichigo and Arata. Strings of saliva hung from their skull-like heads, awaiting for their prey to make a move like hungry wolves. "Arata," Ichigo began. "I want you to stay in there. Don't leave that jungle gym until I say so."
"But Ichigo…" the child whimpered. "But… But what about you?"
"Don't worry. I'll take these monsters down."
"O-Okay." Taking minor steps back to the center of the barred equipment, Arata watched as his protector stood his ground. It wasn't long until one of the hollows gave a loud roar before lunging toward Ichigo with claws bared and jaws wide open. Once the foe was in range, Ichigo sliced the hollow in half with a single effortless stroke.
On cue, the other hollows began to converge on the two young souls. As the swarm closed in, Ichigo transferred spiritual pressure into Zangetsu. With a strong swing, the teen unleashed his signature attack and shouted, "Getsuga Tensho!" The wave of energy ripped across the ground and tore through the many demons unfortunate enough to be in its path. One of the hollows tried to catch the substitute shinigami from behind with a set of sharp claws. However, Ichigo's quick reaction allowed him to block the attack and kill the foe before deflecting another strike from a second hollow and tossing it back.
As all of this was happening, Arata was watching the battle in disbelief. He had never seen someone so strong and brave fight against demons. Especially with such incredible ease despite the overwhelming odds. It was so surreal, as if he were watching an action movie on television. Yet he knew this was actually happening and this person was fighting to keep him safe. "Wow!" he thought. "It's like he's some kind of superhero!" His thought were broken as a large arm shot into the frame behind him, narrowly missing Arata's face. Now he was face-to-face with a hollow who was clawing at him, trying to do all it could to devour the little boy.
However, Arata's fear was quickly quelled as Ichigo's sword sliced through the fiend's limb, causing it to fall on the ground and quickly disintegrate. The hollow stepped back, shrieking in pain as it held up its amputated limb. Seeing his opportunity, Ichigo finished the enemy off with a slash to its mask. "Are you alright, Arata?" he asked as he glanced at the child.
"I-I'm alright," Arata responded. However, the boy's face quickly showed dread as a large-sized hollow towered over the duo. "Ichigo! Look out!" the boy alerted in fear. All Ichigo could do was turn his head as the creature's giant hand plummeted toward him. Before the hit connected, the fiend's strike was blocked as Nemu suddenly appeared between the substitute shinigami and the assaulting hollow.
"It would appear my arrival was quite fortuitous," the purple-haired lieutenant said as she turned to the young man.
"Nemu!" the stunned substitute exclaimed.
"I would advise that we focus on the hollows at hand." She turned her attention back to the large hollow who was still pushing down against her. With an impressive show of strength, Nemu shoved the enemy away, causing it to stagger back. The young woman then jumped in the air and spun kicked the creature in its face. The hollow fell backward and its body vanished as soon as it collided with the ground.
"Whoa…" was the only thought that ran through Ichigo's head after watching Nemu's display. "I didn't think she was that strong."
When Nemu landed back on the ground, she turned to Ichigo and noticed his speechless expression. "Have you sustained any damage, Master Kurosaki?" the lieutenant asked in concern.
"N-No. I'm alright," Ichigo quickly replied as he returned to reality. He then turned his focus to the remaining hollows that were still surrounding them. Even though nearly half of their strength was gone, the altered beasts had no plans for retreating. "So, do you mind helping me take out the rest of these guys?" the substitute asked as he settled into an offensive stance.
Nemu jumped to Ichigo's position and stood back to back with the strawberry-haired teen. With her hands held up and her legs planted firmly on the ground, the young woman was ready for combat. "It would be my pleasure, Master Kurosaki." Both shinigami charged in opposite directions to take care of the hollow horde. As Ichigo fought his foes with strong swings from Zangetsu, Nemu relied on her Hakuda expertise to fight the beasts. For Nemu, it didn't matter how many hollows there were, none could match her strength, let alone their combined power.
A short time passed and both shinigami stood victorious over their eliminated foes. Even so, their heavy breathing showed how tired the two were from the marathon of fighting. Seeing the park was secured, Ichigo walked to the jungle gym to join up with Nemu and Arata. "Are you two alright?" Ichigo asked.
"No injuries have been inflicted upon us," Nemu said as she helped Arata out of the barred structure. When the lieutenant turned to Ichigo, she saw a small scratch on the teen's cheek. "You're injured, Master Kurosaki," she responded.
"Could you please stop calling me that?" Ichigo insisted. "And what are you talking about? I feel just fine."
"I think she's talking about that cut," Arata pointed out.
"Really?" Ichigo touched his cheek and felt the scratch. "Ah, it's not that big of a deal. I'll just grab a band-aid when I get back."
Nemu shook her head. "I will not risk you facing an infection," she said as she walked up to the strawberry-haired teen.
Ichigo was uncertain what was going on as the purple-haired woman placed a gentle hand over his cheek. "What the-? What're you doing?" Ichigo was flabbergasted by how close Nemu's face was to his. Still, even as he fussed, he couldn't help but realize how beautiful her eyes and skin was up close. Nemu, on the other hand, was too busy concentrating to hear the substitute shinigami's complaints. Her hand glowed as she cast a healing kido spell on the wound. In a few seconds, the teen's nick was closed and whatever blood that spilled out of the facial crack was gone.
Nemu removed her hand and took a half step back. "I've healed your wound. I hope the spell didn't cause you any discomfort."
"No, it's fine… Um… Thanks," Ichigo said as he averted his gaze to hide his reddened cheeks.
Nemu turned away from the teen in order to hide her growing blush. "It was no problem, Master Kurosaki," she said.
Ichigo turned his attention to Arata, who seemed confused between the two's strange behavior. "Alright, Arata," the teen began as he knelt down. "It's time that I send you to the Soul Society."
"The Soul Society?" the child repeated. "What's that?"
"It's a place where souls go after they die. Think of it like Heaven. You'll be safe there. Way more than you would be staying here."
"Oh… Right…" Arata said as he gazed at the ground.
Ichigo sighed, knowing that the boy was still depressed over his experience. "I know what's you're thinking about. You're missing your mom and dad, aren't you?" The little boy gave a light nod. Seeing his fear and uncertainty, the substitute shinigami placed a hand on the boy's head and ruffled his hair. "Listen. I promise you that you'll see your parents again soon."
"But those monsters…"
"Were any of them the ones that attacked your mom and dad?" Arata froze in shock by the question asked. He remembered the hollows that attacked his parents. He then thought back to the swarm that attacked him again. Even though the battle was loud and fast-paced, the young boy remembered seeing the demons being slain before Nemu arrived on the scene. Arata responded with another nod.
"As a shinigami, Ichigo has the power to purify hollows with the use of his zanpakuto. Once cleansed, its soul and the souls that were devoured are sent to the Soul Society as normal pluses."
"I didn't get it, but does that mean…"
"That's right," Ichigo said. "Your parents might be waiting for you as we speak."
Hearing the news, a smile formed around Arata's face. "I can meet my parents again! Awesome!" he replied ecstatically.
"That's right. So are you ready to go?"
Arata shook his head. "Thanks for everything, Ichigo!" the little boy replied. "I'll never forget you!"
"If only that were the case," Ichigo solemnly thought. "Alright then. Get ready." Reversing the grip of Zangetsu, Ichigo tapped Arata's head with the blunt end of its hilt, leaving a small stamp on the boy's forehead. It was at that moment a small circle of blue energy formed under Arata's feet and his body sank into the ground.
"Thank you for everything, Ichigo!" Arata said before his soul was completely gone. Once the light vanished, a hell butterfly appeared from the spot and began making its flight to the Soul Society.
"It would seem our mission is complete," Nemu said as she watched the messenger insect depart for her home realm.
"I hope Arata finds his parents," Ichigo said. He then turned to Nemu as he rested his sword on his back. "Hey, Nemu. Thanks for the help back there. And for patching me up."
"It was my pleasure, Master Kurosaki," Nemu responded.
"Again with the 'Master Kurosaki' thing," Ichigo muttered as he shook his head. "But how did you get here so quickly?" he asked. "I would've thought you went back to the Seireitei after this morning."
"Actually, my departure for the Seireitei is at 6:00 p.m.," Nemu said as she averted her gaze from Ichigo and folded her arms. "Until then, I decided it would be best to spend my time here and add more valuable information before I return." Truth be told, Nemu still didn't know why she entered the fray. While it was her duty to slay hollows and secure pluses, her captain ordered her to keep an observatory stance at all costs. While she knew this, the lieutenant was concerned more about Ichigo's safety than her mission. It was only when the enemy tried using a sneak attack on Ichigo did she quickly decide to react. Little did either of them know that the scent from Ichigo's cologne intensified at that very instance and was another key factor in the lieutenant's judgment call.
"Oh, right. Well, it's a good thing you were here. I guess I owe you one."
"You do not owe me anything, Master Kurosaki."
Ichigo sighed. "Oh man. I give up," he thought in defeat. "Well, I better get back to school. Since lunch is already over, I have to get to my gym class. Hope Chad and Uryu gave that crazy-ass Kagine a good excuse." The teen turned around and took a few steps toward the school's direction. "See you later, Nemu," he called with a wave before vanishing with a shunpo.
"Good-bye… Ichigo…" she said in a light tone and a blush appearing on her face.
After a swift couple of minutes of backtracking, Ichigo had returned to his school's roof. The teen looked around for his body, but saw it was gone. "What the hell?" Ichigo muttered. "Where's my body at? And what happened to my food?" He then turned to the gate and saw a small note stuck to the wires. The shinigami pulled the piece of paper off and read it.
"'Dear, Ichigo. Chad and I felt that leaving your body here would've been an inconvenience. Especially since the Junior and Senior level students usually have their lunch break after ours.'" Ichigo nodded in agreement from the point taken. The last thing he wanted was for his vessel to be subjected to any embarrassing or damaging abuse by the older students. "'So instead we decided to set it in the boy's bathroom and told the teacher you came down with a severe case of food poisoning.' What the hell! How's that any better! Was the school nurse's hands tied!" Ichigo shouted. He then saw that the message continued to the other side of the paper. "' Just so you don't get lost, your body is in the bathroom on the same floor as our class and in the second stall from the end. Get back soon, Uryu Ishida.' That son of a… Wait, what's this? 'P.S. Keigo took 300 yen from your wallet. He said that you owed him, but it's not my concern. Also, Mizuiro ate the last of your lunch. I figured you wouldn't mind seeing that you would be gone for quite a while.'"
After reading the information, an upset Ichigo crumbled the note. "Damn it, Uryu!" he growled as he threw it on the ground. "After I get my body back, I'm gonna kick that quincy bastard's ass!" Using the information he learned, Ichigo entered the school to retrieve his body. Once he arrived at the designated bathroom, the teen grabbed his vessel and allowed his soul to enter his form. The teen then hurried to the changing room, only to find that the class was over. "Freakin' fantastic," he muttered.
"Ichigo Kurosaki!" someone shouted directly behind him. Ichigo jumped from the sudden outburst and found himself in the displeased gaze of his gym teacher, Kagine. "Glad you can finally join us! Too bad it's the end of class!"
"Look, I can explain," Ichigo replied as a bead of sweat dripped from his head. "I, uh… I came down with food poisoning… Someone put something in my lunch and I was in the bathroom the entire time."
"Yeah, right!" Kagine shouted. "Do you really expect me to believe that load of crap! You must be out of your mind!"
"Actually, Ichigo's telling the truth, sir," Chad said as he and Uryu stood behind their shinigami comrade.
"Chad! Uryu! Thanks for backing me up, guys!" Ichigo said gratefully.
"It wasn't a pretty sight considering how much he vomited," Uryu added. "I told him to go see the nurse, but Ichigo said he'd rather stay in the bathroom. You can only guess what the stall looks like now."
"I swear to god I'm going to kill you," Ichigo threatened in a low tone.
"Well, since the two of you are vouching for him and, I regrettably admit, you're one of my top five students, I'll let this little incident slide," Kagine said. "But if you ever ditch my class again or do anything to degrade this school's reputation, then I will personally see you kicked out of here! Do I make myself clear?"
"Y-Yes, sir. Perfectly," Ichigo said as he stepped out of the way. "I'll try to watch what I eat next time." With that said, the teen joined his friends as they left for the class. When the trio were out of the gym teacher's sight, Ichigo glanced at Uryu and called, "Hey, Ishida."
"What is it?" the quincy asked. His answer came in the form of Ichigo literally kicking his ass hard enough for him to fall to the ground. "Damn it! What did you do that for!"
"Well for starters, you practically left me hanging on the toilet like some marionette on the table! But before that, you let both Keigo and Mizuiro rob me blind!"
"You should be lucky I even went out of my way to give you a cover story! I could've just left you up there for a senior hazing!"
"Went out of your way? You should've at least sent me to the principal's office! If I didn't return when I did, my face would've been on the damn bathroom floor!"
"Your point?" the quincy quipped.
"Bastard…"
"Ichigo, what happened when you were gone?" Chad asked in an attempt to change the subject.
"Huh?" Ichigo turned to the large Mexican with a skeptical glance.
"I could sense a large mass of hollow spiritual pressure not too far from here. Was it an arrancar?"
"No, it was just a few hollows trying to get the jump on me," Ichigo clarified. "It wasn't anything I couldn't handle."
"That's good to hear," Uryu said. "But still, an ambush by individual hollows? Whenever they do hunt, it's usually in smaller numbers."
"What do you think is going on, Ichigo?" Chad asked.
"I really don't know. Maybe it had something to do with Arata."
"Arata?" Uryu asked. "Who's that?"
"He's this boy I sent to Soul Society. What? Do you think they were attracted by his spirit energy?"
"I don't know. But if they were, I'm sure they won't cause any trouble now that he's safe."
"You're right," Ichigo agreed. The trio continued on to their homeroom. As they walked, the substitute turned to the window and stared at the sky. "I sure hope he's doing alright," he thought.
Two hours passed until school was finally over for the day. He managed to get his money back from Keigo and his bento box by Mizuiro (though not without a "friendly" punch). The teen was glad that he could finally kick back and rest. Even so, thoughts from earlier that day occupied his mind, especially when it came to his contact with Nemu. In fact, it was her attractive face from when she healed him that was pasted in his mind like a photo image on a computer's background.
When the teen arrived at the bus stop located down the street, he sat down on the bench, awaiting for public transportation to show up. However, since he was occupied with his thoughts, Ichigo didn't notice Tatsuki sitting next to him. "You seem to be deep in thought," the raven-haired fighter said.
"What?" Ichigo said as he glanced at his old friend. "I don't know what you're talking about," he replied.
"Ichigo. I've known you since we were kids," Tatsuki responded. "You may have a permanent frown, but it's not too difficult to figure out what you're thinking about."
"Yeah, right," the teen said.
Tatsuki chuckled at the teenage male's response. "So what are you doing this weekend?"
Ichigo groaned as his head dropped. Thanks to Tatsuki, he remembered that he had to train with the Vizards the next day. While the training was harsh from time to time, it was a few of the members that annoyed him to no end. Just thinking of a couple of the exiles gave him a migraine. "Let's say I have to visit some… estranged relatives tomorrow."
"Wow. Is it that bad?"
"You have no idea," he sighed.
"I see. Maybe I'll see you on Sunday."
"Why? There's nothing going on then."
"Exactly. Which makes it perfect for me to kick your ass at the arcade," she replied with a wide smile.
Seeing the challenge, Ichigo gave the young woman a scowl. "Not a chance, Tatsuki." He then saw the bus coming down the road and closing the gap. It wasn't long until the vehicle made a stop in front of the bench they were sitting on. "Fine. You're on then."
"Great. I'll see you then," she said. When bus' door slid open, the two teens climbed up the steps and took their seats. It would be a good half an hour until they returned to their homes.
Author's Note 1: Hey everyone. Glad to see that all of you are loving this story. Anyway, I'm not entirely sure about that scene between Ichigo and Uryu. I mean, while the two are good friends, they're also rivals at the same time. I figured I could play on that rivalry, though it's possible that I might have exaggerated that relationship a Still, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.
Author's Note 2: It's possible a few of you felt that between this chapter and the last, it was a fast upload. Well, I wanted to get this third part submitted before my dentist appointment on the 29th. I'm going to have my wisdom teeth pulled, meaning I'll be under a lot of painkillers and other types of needed drugs. Of course, I also wanted to get it done in case, for some unforeseen reason, I don't wake up from the procedure (guess you can say I'm overly-cautious and very ). But as soon as I fully recover, you'll have another great chapter to read. I'll get back to you guys soon.