Author's Notes:
Aaand back to the longer chapters. Quite interesting that it's always the odd-numbered chapters that end up being on the longer side... but oh well, that won't keep up for long.
"Are you sure that it's supposed to be here? Because I sure am not seeing any hollow around here." Ichigo said, as he turned towards Rukia.
"I don't understand this... it should be here! The denreishinki would never give me inaccurate information for a mission!" Rukia replied, her disbelief towards the current situation clearly audible in her tone.
It was a day just like any other day for Ichigo had been after he became a substitute shinigami. Kendo training, attempts at learning how to contain reiatsu, school, everything had been completely normal... until they had received the mission they were currently on during a break. Technically, there was nothing suspicious about the mission: Just an ordinary hollow, with no special powers or anything.
The only thing that was different was the fact that the hollow simply wasn't there.
And it wasn't just this hollow, either: Over the past few days, Rukia had received multiple missions where the hollow that they were supposed to go after just wasn't there. At first, Rukia had insisted that it was just a mistake, with the system, and that nothing is perfect. As the number of weird missions kept increasing however, both Ichigo and Rukia became increasingly doubtful towards that explanation.
"Are you sure that this thing isn't broken or anything?" Ichigo asked uncertainly. To say that Rukia was worked up over the entire situation would have been an understatement.
"I'm absolutely certain! If the denreishinki was broken, it would simply stop working, and not give me messed-up mission details. Either this mission was incorrect to begin with, or..."
"Or something already took care of the hollows?" Ichigo suggested.
Rukia hesitated. "That's possible... but not too likely. If they can't get anything else, hollows do attack and eat each other, but if this were the case, we wouldn't be notified to begin with. And besides shinigami, there's almost nothing that can outright kill hollows."
Ichigo raised his eyebrow. "'Almost'?"
"Well... there is- ah, forget it. It doesn't matter."
"What now?"
"Nothing." Rukia grunted. "I just thought of something, and realized it was impossible. Come on, let's get back to school."
"…sure." Ichigo grunted. They'd be late again, he just knew it.
oOo
In another part of town, Tatsuki- who had called in sick for this particular day- sat in Urahara's absurdly spacious basement, complete with an artificial sky, rocky grounds and a hot spring. She was out of her body, dressed in simple robes. Her body was occupied by what Urahara had explained was a modded soul, an artificial entity designed especially for looking after gigai- or human bodies.
This was the day, the day when it was all or nothing, when she would get her powers or crash and burn. She thought back to one week ago, when it had first started.
"So where do we begin?" She asked. "Lifting weights? Martial arts?"
Urahara laughed. "Nothing so crude. Today, we do only one thing." He held up his cane, and slammed it into her forehead- and to Tatsuki's surprise, there was no pain.
To her further surprise, she was also standing next to her body, now lying limp on the ground. She took a deep breath, and fought the urge to freak out. She looked down to her chest- there was a chain coming from it, long and thin, leading to her body. "That's the link connecting the body to the soul," Urahara explained. "To have it severed means to die- unless one becomes a shinigami."
"Is that what we're doing today?" She tugged lightly at the chain; it was stuck firmly in her chest.
"Not at all. Today is quite undramatic, actually. Take a seat, please." He gestured to a chair nearby. "Don't worry about the chain- it can stretch quite a bit."
Looking at him suspiciously, Tatsuki took a seat. Urahara took out a syringe, filled with a transparent liquid with a slightly yellowish tint.
"What's that?"
Urahara flicked the tip, letting a drop of the liquid leak out. "This, Arisawa-san, is a drug. It is designed to rapidly cultivate and grow the spiritual power of any being it is applied to."
"You're going to use… performance enhancing stuff on me, or what?"
Urahara smiled. "We could do it the slow way- that involves letting your reiatsu grow at a natural rate. Perhaps in twenty years, you'd have enough for the process to work."
"…it isn't dangerous, is it?"
"Mostly not. This solution is actually nine parts water- a pure dosage would definitely kill you. This should be the right amount to make your reiatsu grow explosively."
She held up her arm. "Just do it."
Still smiling, Urahara inserted the syringe, slowly pumping the contents of the phial into her blood- or was it blood when you were a soul? She wasn't sure. She waited until it was all in.
"I don't feel any different."
"That's because it takes a week to take effect."
"A WEEK?"
"When I said explosive growth rate, I didn't mean the kind that gets to you overnight. Your spiritual cells are now working in overdrive- but it will still take its time. Science does not achieve miracles, and it needs its time."
"…fine." She grunted.
"Excellent. Come back here in a week."
…and here she was, being inspected by Urahara, who was checking Tatsuki's soul in order to see if the drug had worked the way it was supposed to.
After letting the shopkeeper silently go about his business (which involved doing plenty of things that one would normally expect to be done in a medical examination, such as checking her pulse, which he was currently doing) for some time, Tatsuki grew impatient. "Did that drug thing work now, or what?"
Urahara looked up, and gave her a devious grin. "Patience is a virtue, Arisawa-san. Finding this out takes its time... but yes, from how things currently seem, I would say that it was a complete success."
"So, can we get to the actual training after this?"
"Not yet, I'm afraid. Once this is done, I will inject you with a second drug, which will bring your reiatsu to its maximum potential, and then we will get to the actual training. If you would like, though, I could teach you some kendo once I injected you with the second drug... that would make things easier once we start the actual training. So what do you say?"
"Fine, if you say so..." Tatsuki sighed. No, this definitely was not what she had been expecting.
oOo
Contrary to Ichigo's belief, he and Rukia did make it back to school in time, after all: Only half of their break had passed in the time where they had been on the mission. The mysterious hollow disappearances were good for something, after all.
Trying his best to ignore Keigo's teasing, who once again was convinced that Ichigo and Rukia had been using most of the break to do certain other things, Ichigo tried to get his meal down before they had to go back to class. Him, Rukia, Keigo and Mizuiro were outside on the school grounds, making use of the good weather they had by relaxing under a tree. Rukia and Mizuiro were having a conversation about class, leaving Ichigo to deal with Keigo's teasing by himself.
"...You know, Ichigo, this would be way more enjoyable if you wouldn't be constantly ignoring me." Keigo complained, having just finished singing his own rendition of 'I will always love you' in mockery, which had only been made more horrible by the fact that Keigo's English was absolutely miserable.
"Tough luck." Ichigo grunted, his mouth full of food. "You've been singing love songs around me for weeks now, it should be a no-brainer to figure out that I'm used to it by now."
"Used to it, you say?" Keigo asked mischievously. "If that is the case, then I suppose an entirely different approach to this is in order. How about I-"
"Please excuse me." A calm voice interrupted Keigo, before he could even suggest his new approach to teasing Ichigo. "You are Kurosaki Ichigo, are you not?"
Ichigo looked up. Standing in front of him was another student: A pale, bespectacled young man about Ichigo's age, with black, chin-long hair, and blue eyes.
"Who's askin'?" Ichigo said, not too pleased with having his lunch break interrupted. "Wait, I know you- you're in my class. Ishini or something, right?"
"Ishida Uryu." The lean teenager introduced himself, adjusting his glasses. "Let's talk, Kurosaki-san."
"'Bout what`?" Ichigo said. He was being rude and he knew it, but he wasn't in that great a mood to begin with, and with Keigo's asinine teasings on top of an interrupted lunch break, he wasn't feeling courteous.
"…let's go talk by ourselves. I have something which I need to discuss with you." Very formal, Ichigo noted. Prim and proper- probably the kind of nerdy young man that aced all the test scores.
"Oooh, it looks like Ichigo has a rival in love!" Keigo snorted. "I can see it now, a challenge to a duel for a woman's heart-"
"I swear to GOD, Keigo, another word and I will break your index finger." Ichigo growled.
"…or is it that Rukia-chan has a rival in love?" Keigo continued gleefully. His hand shooting out like a snake- a snake that had woken up on the wrong side of bed only to find out there was no coffee left- Ichigo grabbed Keigo by the finger, and began twisting.
"AOWWW ah aha ah ah AAAAH…" Keigo squealed. "I swear Ichigo I was just kidding- OWW!"
"Get lost." Ichigo said, letting go.
"Curse you, Ichigo! I shall get you back! Somehow..." Keigo complained, as Ichigo and Ishida walked a few steps away from his friends.
"You wanted to talk? So talk." Ichigo said.
"Very well." He said, once more adjusting his glasses. Ichigo was beginning to suspect it was a tic. "I suppose I can only be frank- I know what you have been up to these last few months."
"…god, if this really IS about Rukia, I will kick your ass." Ichigo grumbled. "No, we're not dating, for the last time-"
"I know you're not." Ishida said frankly. "No, I know what the two of you have really been doing."
"Uh huh." Ichigo said. There was no way he'd know about hollows, right? This thin, lean, glasses-wearing nerd who looked like he'd topple at a mild breeze- right? "That being?"
"You've been hunting hollows."
Damn.
"And you've been doing a poor job of it, too. You've left two alive for every single one you purged- you think you are protecting people? You are barely managing the problem."
"Look, I don't know what this is-"
"You purify them. I purge them, and I do it better than you do. This is me telling you to stop getting in the way. I am the destroyer, and I do not need some second-rate human playing shinigami upsetting the balance."
Ichigo blinked. The guy had said 'I am the destroyer' unironically, and moreover, he seemed to know a lot about hollows.
"You're the one that's been wasting my time all week long?"
"If by 'wasting your time', you mean killing the hollows that you were too slow to purify before they attack any souls, then yes, that would be me." He gave Ichigo a dark glare. That guy really wasn't joking around here...
Rukia also seemed to have noticed that Uryu meant business, as she left Mizuiro with Keigo, and walked over to them. "Hey, what's this all about?" She asked, as she got close to them.
"Halte dich hier raus, shinigami!" Uryu hissed at Rukia in a language that Ichigo couldn't recognize, spitting out the last word. Rukia stopped dead and her tracks, and stared at the young man, her eyes growing wide, while Uryu focussed his attention on Ichigo again.
"Consider this a warning, Kurosaki Ichigo: Do not get in my way in dealing with hollows." He said darkly.
"...And what if I do?" Ichigo asked with a mix of both defiance and curiosity.
"In that case, I cannot guarantee that you will get out of this unharmed. Am I understood?"
Ichigo hesitated, but ultimately nodded slowly. This guy knew about hollows, and didn't exactly leave the impression that he was joking about anything he said – it would be better to give him what he wanted for now. Ichigo still could break his word later on... for now, the most important thing was to get rid of him.
Judging by his facial expression, Uryu did not believe him, but he did not say anything about it.
"Good." He said, as he turned around, leaving both Ichigo and Rukia standing where they were. The two of them stared after him, feeling very much taken aback.
"Just what was that all about?" Ichigo asked, scratching his head. "Just what is this guy? And what he did he even say to you, Rukia? Did you understand that?"
Rukia however did not seem to have heard Ichigo: She was still staring after Uryu, disbelief written in her face.
"Impossible..." She muttered. Ichigo, not taking kindly to being flat-out ignored by her, waved his hand in front of her face.
"Hellooo? Earth to Rukia, anyone home, or are you suffering from a case of love at first sight?" Ichigo asked, taking a page out of Keigo's book in order to get Rukia's attention.
Apparently not in the least bothered by Ichigo's attempts to mess with her, Rukia turned towards Ichigo again. Shock was written all over her face. Whatever that guy had told her, it really must've struck a nerve... come to think of it, it was the first time he ever saw her like this.
"This guy-" She asked, only to be interrupted by Mizuiro, who reminded them that break was over now.
Ichigo shook his head. "Let's save this for later."
oOo
'Later' came, ending up being after school altogether, when the two of them were walking back from school. As soon as they had parted with their friends, turning round a street corner, Ichigo turned to Rukia.
"So do you have any idea who that jackass was?"
"I…" Rukia said, sounding unsure. "It just…"
"He knows about what we do, and he says he's doing a better job of it too. I really kind of wanted to just suckerpunch him then and there- who the hell is he?"
"…Quincy." Rukia said quietly. "Only it's not possible- not supposed to."
"What the hell's a Quincy?"
"Quincies were humans with significant spiritual power, and their own set of skills," Rukia began explaining, sounding solemn, "they used mainly bows as their weapon- activated as a spiritual weapon by some personal artifact. They had a big bag of other tricks too, though- damn, it's been too long since my history class…"
"What was that about it being impossible?"
"You know how we purify hollows by cracking their masks, sending their souls to the afterlife?"
"Uh huh?"
"Quincies flat out destroyed hollows. And when you do that, the spiritual power goes to waste- the world of the living becomes oversaturated, while the soul society starts to lack in power. It creates an unbalance of power between the realms."
"What does that mean, eh?"
"Reality begins to crumble. Eventually, both the world of the living would collapse along with the soul society, and earth would go back to being just a rock populated by soulless animals."
"…and that didn't happen."
"No." Rukia shook her head. "If I remember correctly, we first learned of their existence seven hundred years ago. Back then, they were only a couple dozen. What they did with regards to destruction of soul matter represented so small a toll on overall reiatsu that it was nothing the system couldn't repair by itself. Then they became a couple hundred, and matters were still progressing fine. Then, a couple of centuries ago, they united under a leader in the thousands…"
"This story won't end happily, I just know it."
"There was a war. The quincies were slaughtered- they faced the full might of the Gotei Juusantai, and they were killed almost to a man. After their defeat, they were hunted for generations, until it was generally accepted that all of them had died. By now, the general perception is that there might still be some groups of survivors out there, but that they are far too weak and low in number to really cause any damage."
"In that case, I see why Ishida's got a problem with shinigami." Ichigo remarked dryly. "Do we know for certain that he's a quincy, though?"
"I thought he might just be an empowered human- but what he said back there, 'Halte dich hier raus'- that's German for "Stay out of this". That's the language most used by the quincies, the language used for all of their ceremonies, techniques and weapons. Did he say anything else to you that might imply that he's a quincy?"
"Hmm... well, he did call himself a destroyer, and said that something about him purging hollows, while I purify them... I suppose that fits the bill, huh?"
"It really does... damn, I better report this once I'm able to get back to Soul Society..."
"Well, whatever. I don't have any intention of quitting, just because this guy asked me to. If we get across him on our hunts, I guess I'll have to show him why the shinigami won this war, and shut his overly proud mouth." Ichigo boasted, making a fist.
Rukia grimaced. "You better don't. If this guy really is a Quincy, then you shouldn't provoke a fight with him. Like I said, Quincies mostly rely on ranged attacks in combat, using spirit weapons like bows. You're currently hardly better than an amateur swordsman, and your experience in dealing with ranged attacks is limited at best... not to mention that this guy probably already has years of experience. If you were to fight him, he would exploit your weaknesses, just like Grand Fisher did, and this time, I doubt that we could hope for Urahara to save you. No, fighting him is out of the question."
"Then what am I supposed to do if we ever directly come across him during a mission? Settle our differences with a friendly talk over a cup of tea? Play a card game, or toss a coin to decide who gets to kill the hollow?" Ichigo asked, giving Rukia a glare.
"Hmm... honestly speaking, I have no idea." Rukia admitted. "Just try to not give Ishida any reason to attack you if we come across him during a mission. Hopefully, that won't happen until we find out a way to deal with this..."
Ichigo grunted. "Not giving him any reason to attack me, you say... easier said than done. This guy's attitude just pisses me off. Going around, proclaiming that he's being a better protector than me... if he's really doing such a good job with this all, then where was he when that hollow attacked my family when I first met you? Where was he when that stuff with Orihime's brother happened? Where was he when I was fighting Grand Fisher? He simply wasn't there, and yet he calls me out for missing so many hollows. Some protector he is!"
"Or maybe you were just faster than him in regards to these particular hollows." Rukia suggested.
"That'd make him even more of an asshole, if he boasts that he's faster than me at dealing with these things..."
"Well, asshole or not: You should not fight him. You would only lose, Ichigo, and depending on how deep his grudge goes, he might even kill you after he has defeated you."
Ichigo sighed. "Yeah, yeah, got it... I'll try to evade Ishida, not provoke him if we do get across him, and don't even think about fighting him." Already before Ichigo even finished his sentence, he and Rukia got the feeling that despite of Ichigo's promise, things would not be that easy.
oOo
Elsewhere, Tatsuki was sitting down in the same chair she had last time, out of body once more.
"So... are we ready?" She said eagerly. "I feel great- I started to feel the power the same day you injected me; I feel... great. I can feel this power moving inside me, moving, stirring... it's like I just woke up from being asleep all my life!"
Urahara chuckled. "Not unexpected. Not quite so dramatic in reality, but to realize ones power is thrilling. Yours came about at an accelerated rate- it's natural that you feel spirited." He prepared a syringe, this time full of a colourless liquid. "The first injection made your reiatsu grow to its fullest potential at its current level- this second injection will rein in that power, refine it, make it accessible to you."
"It's not accessible now?"
"Oh, not at all." Urahara said. "Right now you're a human with a lot of power, but no way of using it- you're like a power plant with no way of spending that power on, for example, a nearby city. This would, speaking in terms of analogy, give you wires, cable and connection."
"I thought-"
"That reiatsu is something you can just grab and use? Tell me, could you willingly command your stomach to slow or accelerate digestion? Make your heart beat slower or faster at will? Release adrenalin when you needed it? Humans have remarkably little control of their own bodies; it's amazing how much of it runs on autopilot. That will be the core difference between a shinigami and a human being- the potential to control oneself down to a spiritual atom."
"...holy crap." Tatsuki said, blinking. "Do it."
Still smiling, Urahara swabbed her arm, and slowly inserted the syringe into one of her veins, injecting the second part of the drug. When he was done, he gently pulled it out, and discarded it.
"I uh, I don't feel any different." Tatsuki said, confused.
"Really?"
"Yeah, this is- UWAAGH!" Tatsuki's back arced, her body falling to the floor, spasming, wracked with tremors. "I ah OH GOD AAAAH WHAT AH-"
"What you feel is your power, reorganizing itself. It should take only a few minutes. Does it hurt?"
"Not bad- AACK!- no no no, not bad, but it feels- I can't describe it OH GOD-" Tatsuki lay on the ground, cramping as the spiritual energy of her body morphed, grew and shrunk, over and over.
"I believe I should mention that this is the part that I was referring to when I said that you might die during all this. Your reiatsu is currently being brought to its current maximum potential... and it might as well be that a living human being's soul will not be able to sustain that kind of spiritual strength. Not to mention that there is no telling how your body will react once you re-enter it."
"Kehehe...! If this pain is... as bad as it... gets, then... this all succeeding is pretty much... guaranteed!" Tatsuki managed to get out over the absurd, indescribable sensations running through her body, a mad grin on her face.
Urahara smiled mischievously. "And that is exactly why I have chosen you."
oOo
By the time that Ishida Uryu got home, the house was completely empty – but then again, how else should it be? Uryu's grandfather Soken had died already several years ago, killed by the hollows that he, like Uryu was fighting against. Uryu never got to know his own mother, his father never having made the slightest mention of her, so that Uryu didn't even know whether she was alive or dead. The only bit of family that Uryu had left was his father... Ishida Ryuken.
That at a time like this, the man wasn't at home was hardly a surprise. If Uryu's father cared about anything, then it would be his work. Even though like Uryu, Ryuken had been taught the way of the Quincy by his own father Soken, Ryuken had for whatever reason discarded his status as Quincy already before Uryu's birth. When Uryu had confronted his father about the matter, he had simply dismissed the entire quincy business as pointless, saying something along the lines of "the living shouldn't be wasting their time with the dead". But even though Ryuken knew about Uryu embracing and frequently using his powers and disapproved of it, he never outright forbade it... this, however, was only another reason for the distant relationship between Uryu and his father.
As far as Uryu himself was concerned, hunting hollows was essentially an obligation for him.
In the quiet of his lonely home, he began heating some noodles, still thinking about his day at school, about that fake shinigami. He had really put on a tough act- truth be told, he himself was just a kid with powers too, and it was something he had to remind himself of all the time. He was good, he had practiced since he was six, but he was still young and dumb- or rather, capable as much as any teenaged boy to do rather stupid things, like confronting a shinigami whose reiatsu was already surprisingly close to his own, who hadn't really done anything to provoke him.
But then again, had he been wrong? He did a run of Karakura for two hours every evening, speeding from building to building to strike down any hollow he could feel, and he always got at least five of them even on a slow day. He had always known that Kurosaki had an unusual amount of reiatsu for a normal human being, and for well over a month now, he also felt Kurosaki rushing out at odd times to kill one hollow at a time. Whatever sensory equipment he had- there was no way he was refined enough to sense reiatsu intuitively- was both slower and weaker than his own perception of the spiritual world. He was a grunt, relying on nothing but raw strength and a tendency to charge headlong into a fight, thinking as he went. It was baffling that he survived, let alone succeeded- he had to admit, however grudgingly, that he was not unskilled. For an amateur, that is.
So why did he feel infuriated about Kurosaki? Why did he irritate him with his very presence? The logical part of his brain told him that he was being childish, that he should just do as he had always done- but in young men, the logical part of the brain is, regrettably, often in minority. How could he walk around so smugly in his shinigami robes, borrowed from a real shinigami too weak to do her own job, not knowing the cruelty and horror it represented?
Something had to be done. Something- if only to make Kurosaki understand who was number one.
oOo
At the same time, in another part of the town, Ichigo had to sneeze – which wasn't exactly the best moment to do so, since him, his family and Rukia were having lunch together.
"Bless you, Ichi-nii!" Yuzu said, as cheerful as ever.
"Couldn't you at least have turned your head around, nii-chan? This isn't exactly appetizing, you know." Karin added dryly.
"Beat it. It's not like I have any choice on where or when I sneeze." Ichigo grunted.
"You should still at least apologize when you just do it like that, Ichigo. It is just good manners." His mother chided.
Ichigo grimaced. "Oh, right, everyone gang up on me... let me guess, you have something to say as well, Rukia?"
"Uh... isn't there a saying that if you sneeze, somebody is thinking about you?"
"That's only a saying... still, better than you criticizing me as well."
"Could we please drop the subject now?" Masaki asked. "I prefer not talking about this sort of thing while we eat."
"Yes, mom." Ichigo said, turning his attention to his food again. As he silently continued to eat, he got thinking.
Ever since Yuzu's condition had improved far enough for her to return from the hospital, Ichigo's general mood had been generally increasing (not that he showed it, that is)... until the incident with Grand Fisher happened and hat and clogs revealed himself to be a cold, manipulative bastard. And then there was this business with Ishida today... come to think of it, though, if Ishida had come to Ichigo's help when he had lost against Grand Fisher, Ichigo probably wouldn't have minded it as much as he minded Urahara. Despite being the asshole that he seemed to be, Ishida at least seemed to agree with Ichigo on the principle that hollows needed to be fought before they could cause damage, unlike that other bastard. So why was Ishida so adamant about Ichigo not interfering with him? If anything, he should welcome the help in dealing with these monsters... sure, there was the not-so-ignorable part about the Quincies being driving to near extinction at the hand of the shinigami, but from what Ichigo knew about Ishida as classmate (which admittedly wasn't much), he didn't seem to be the kind of guy who would be 'racist' against a substitute shinigami.
So just what was his fucking deal?
After lunch, both Ichigo and Rukia headed to Ichigo's room, like they usually did – after all, it was the best way to ensure that whenever a hollow attacked, that they would be able to get moving as quickly as possible... and it was just about the only way for Rukia to get her homework done. While she was admittedly anything but stupid, the subjects that Ichigo was dealing with were a tad too complex for her to just jump in and understand without any help from Ichigo.
Just as he was putting a foot on the stairs, he could hear Yuzu throw a coughing fit, and it didn't sound healthy. Quickly, he turned back to the kitchen, to see her red in the face from exertion. His mother was already there, medicine in hand.
"It will be fine, Ichigo," she assured him, gently rubbing Yuzu's back as the coughing started to die down.
"You sure?"
"It will be. Now go up and study like a good boy."
"...yes, mom."
He grunted inwardly, and headed up with Rukia.
oOo
The next day, just after school, it was time again. Rukia's alarm went off, and off they ran to chase yet another hollow. At least this one hadn't popped up during school hours; for this, Ichigo felt grateful.
Out of his body and with sword in hand, he charged into an abandoned building, half ruined, along with Rukia. This time, they were there first- the hollow was sitting high up on the roof, glaring down on them through the ruined stories of the building. It licked its teeth, fresh blood lining it- some soul had been taken already.
Giggling malevolently, the hollow- which had a lean shape not unlike a ferret or a squirrel, if ferrets were fifteen foot long- quickly climbed down, and leapt at Ichigo. Ichigo took a stance- but the hollow never hit.
In a flash of bright light, the hollow was pinned to the floor, a radiant projectile of pure energy sticking through its side and left hind leg. The hollow screeched, writhing in pain, but Ichigo couldn't care less. Instead, he looked to the roof.
And sure enough, there he was. Clothed in a strange, white suit, lined with blue, stoo Ishida Uryu, holding a glowing, ethereal bow in his hand. Gently, he adjusted his glasses. Something about his smug look made Ichigo plain angry.
"You!" He sneered. "What are you doing here?"
"Your job." Uryu replied coolly.
"My job? Like hell- if you were so much better than me, then why does this hollow have blood on its face? Who did you fail to save this time, Quincy?" Ichigo shot back.
"So you figured it out by now." Uryu stoically noted. "I suppose I have to at least give you credit for that. But to get back to your question – I might be a bit late to the scene, but even so, I was here before you, and managed to injure the hollow before you could even make an attack, shinigami. I know perfectly well that I cannot save every plus from hollows, but even so, I am doing a much better job at it than you could ever hope to. It is like I told you: I do not need an amateur substitute shinigami interfering in my business."
"What the hell is your deal?" Ichigo growled. "I know about what the shinigami did to the Quincy, but you can't be stupid enough to hold a grudge towards me because of what this Gotei did some centuries ago! Why can't you just accept me helping in dealing with hollows, asshole?"
While Ichigo and Uryu had been talking, the hollow had been able to recover enough for it to get back up again. Without making a single noise, the monster got up, and began charging at Ichigo, claws first – and he only noticed it after it was too late. In a quick last effort, Ichigo raised his sword a little, realizing that it was too late to dodge or fully block the attack...
But the hollow never reached Ichigo. Only a few inches before it even reached Ichigo, the beast was pierced by another arrow of bright blue light from behind, and disintegrated. Ichigo, still shocked, could only stare.
"Dead." Uryu calmly stated, his hands still at his bow. "Do you hear me, Kurosaki Ichigo? If it wasn't for my help, you would be dead now. This is why I do not want you interfering with my business. You may have the raw strength, but you almost completely lack any combat experience. In the time that it takes you to kill a single hollow, another one could be showing at another place in the town, and use the fact that you are still fighting to its advantage by going on a rampage, undisturbed by you, who should be dealing with it. You are inexperienced, inefficient, and slow. You are correct in assuming that I cannot deal with every hollow that shows up in this town, and that somebody helping out would make things easier. But an arrogant substitute shinigami such as you would be more of a hindrance than anything else!"
"AND YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE SO MUCH BETTER THAN ME AT THIS?!" Ichigo shouted, his rage getting the better of him. "If you are oh-so-great, then where you when that hollow attacked my family, and I was forced into becoming a substitute shinigami?! Where were you when Orihime's brother tried to kill her?! Where were you when me and my sisters where attacked on the graveyard?! You are barely better than me, so don't go around acting all high and mighty!"
"Since when were you under the impression that I was not aware of these occasions? When Kuchiki Rukia first arrived, I was under the impression that she, as a trained shinigami, would be able to defeat a single hollow. But she wasn't, and it was all due to your interference, Kurosaki Ichigo." Uryu explained, still as calm as ever, which only got Ichigo's blood even more boiling than it already was. "When Inoue Orihime was attacked, I was willing to give you a chance to prove your worth as protector. When the hollow residing on the graveyard attacked you and your sisters on the graveyard, the entire situation was resolved before I could even head there. I am just human, after all – and that occasion just further proved that you are not fit to be a protector." He readjusted his glasses once more. "You honestly should have noticed by now yourself that you are not suited for this. Shouldn't it be telling that you only just recently realized that somebody besides you was fighting hollows?"
At this point, he jumped down from the roof, and landed just a few feet away from Ichigo. "You are simply not suited for this, shinigami." He slowly said, especially stressing the last word.
"You god damn bastard..." Ichigo snarled. "Why don't you come over here and fight me?! I'll show you who's not worthy of being a protector!"
Even though Ichigo regretted the words the instant they came out of his mouth, they seemed to have achieved at least something: Uryu's calm, stoic facade was finally broken, and his expression changed to one of outright surprise.
"A duel?" He asked, baffled.
Ichigo hesitated. Rukia had outright warned him to not challenge Uryu, but from the looks of it, the sheer idea of a duel seemed to surprise, almost even scare Uryu... oh, to the hell with it. Even if it wasn't the best idea, it was a good enough chance to wipe that smug attitude out of that asshole's face.
"Yeah, a duel! What, are you scared of fighting a shinigami? Scared that you can't live up to all your big talk? What's wrong, Quincy?"
Uryu remained silent for a moment. Ichigo was already beginning to think – no, rather hope that he would decline, but then- "Very well. You shall have your duel. Tomorrow, on the Karakura graveyard – that place should be empty enough for us to face each other without getting disturbed. Yes... you can prove me your worth as protector, substitute shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo."
Well, crap. So much for following Rukia's advice.
Author's Notes:
Dun-dun-duuun. I suppose that makes the first time that a plotline isn't directly resolved in a single chapter, hm? I daresay that from now on, the final product of metabolism (aka shit) is going down.
But there's something else that's new... omakes. Just read on a bit, and you'll have a good idea of what that is going to be like.
TOTALLY UN-CANON CRACK OMAKE TIME!
On edge, Ichigo approached the graveyard, Rukia in tow. Today, they would settle things good and all, to see who was the worthier. The road in felt heavy, but at the same time, Ichigo tingled with excitement.
Before long, they came upon Ishida, standing there in his white suit, looking as cool and condescending as ever.
"Today, Kurosaki, I shall show you once and for all what your place is." He exclaimed.
"I shall teach you not to underestimate the Kurosaki name!" Ichigo sneered. The two of them stared intensely into one another's eyes, in a totally-not-gay way. The stare intensified, and as the wind blew by them quietly, making their clothes flap dramaqtically in the wind, a tumbleweed passed by. It was dramatic enough that you could have played a western theme- which, in fact, somebody was doing.
"Rukia?" Ichigo said. "Is THIS why you brought a stereo?"
"It's appropriate, isn't it? It's the good, the bad and the ugly!" She said cheerfully.
"…I see. Carry on, then."
"Are you ready to face your doom, Kurosaki?"
"Bring it!"
"As you wish." As dramatically as possible, Ishida reached into his pocket, and pulled out… a deck of cards. "I've been a duel master for almost ten years- prepare to face utter annihilation in a children's card game!"
"...a whaaat?" Ichigo said, stunned.
"How else does anybody ever fight duels? OBVIOUSLY card games is the only way to resolve a conflict between men, especially if they are adults!"
Gaping, Ichigo finally said,
"…I TOLD you it was a good idea to bring my duel disc system!" Cheerfully, he pulled out his own deck, and his duel disc as well. "You said, 'no way, nobody ever duels with card games!' Ha- shows what you know about human culture!"
And then they dueled.
And it was fabulous.
And not gay at all.