• • •
"Ichigo! Get Kanonji!" I yelled, grabbing my shoulder as I watched the Hollow move towards him like it was about to attack. However, Ichigo hesitated, looking at my wounded shoulder.
I lightly growled, narrowing my eyes. "Now, Ichigo! Hurry! Don't think about me. Save Kanonji!"
Ichigo nodded, but his eyes were still trained onto my wounded shoulder; he was watching as the blood oozed past my fingers. He blinked, tearing his eyes from my shoulder to my face. The strawberry nodded, then ran towards Kanonji and pushed him out of the way of the Hollow.
Of course, he could have probably thought of a better way to save him then by grabbing him by the neck and shoving him out of the way…
Although, Kanonji was safe for now, which is what matters. To make things better, the Hollow ran mask first into the wall of the abandoned hospital. And it stuck!
"A golden chance!" Kanonji exclaimed, as he saw the Hollow trapped in the wall. He made the motion to stand, but Ichigo gripped onto the fabric of his shirt to hold him in place.
"Don't think so!" The strawberry muttered, glaring at the spiritualist. He drug him away from the scene, making sure that he wouldn't be able to interfere.
I rose to my feet, applying more pressure to my shoulder as I made my way over to Ichigo and Kanonji. Now, the blood had soaked though the sleeve of my top, leaving small splatter marks on the ground as I walked.
"Jun!" Ichigo exclaimed, eyes wide. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. This wound isn't that bad; it's just a little bit deep, that's all. I'll live, it's nothing too serious." I explained, wincing a little bit more as I added pressure. I needed to staunch the bleeding soon.
"Can you fight?" Ichigo asked, staring deeply into my eyes. I met his gaze head on, standing at my full height. I couldn't read the emotion behind his eyes, but I felt like I needed to prove myself.
"Yeah, I know I'll be able to. It's just… I usually hold my Zanpakuto with two hands, but I guess I'll have to try something different this time. At least this will be interesting." I said, dryly laughing a bit.
"Jun, let me fight this one." Ichigo proposed, eyes showing his resolve.
"No way!" I blinked, surprised. "This is my job! I can still fight."
"Then let me protect you!" Ichigo argued back, leaving me shocked by his words.
"W-What did you say?" I asked, afraid that I was hearing things.
Did Ichigo really offer to protect me? The prudish, angst-filled strawberry that we all know? I must have been hearing things; maybe I lost too much blood already.
"I said, let me protect you." Ichigo clarified, staring me straight in the eyes.
"I-I'm not some damsel in distress! I can protect myself, thanks." I muttered, feeling my cheeks warm up. I couldn't bear the look in his eyes, so I broke the gaze, opting to look at the ground instead.
"Jun," Ichigo sternly said, causing me to look back up at him. "You're badly hurt. Let me fight for you. It'll be a first…and probably a last!" He tried to reason, "I know you don't like people protecting you, you want to do it yourself. But, for just this once, let me protect you!"
I bit my lip; a bit of a habit of mine that I had whenever I was nervous. Of course, I told Ichigo about my past. He knew that my Father died protecting me. That's why I was so big on not being protected. I couldn't bear the thought of someone else dying for my sake.
"Fine," I answered, briefly looking into his deep cinnamon eyes. When I saw the satisfaction in them, I had to look away. "But just this once!" I added, not finding the courage to look the strawberry fully in the eyes.
However, I then saw movement from my peripheral vision. The Hollow was on the move yet again, headed for us.
"Quick, into the hospital..!" I ordered, looking around at our surroundings. It would be bad if we got in the middle of the large crowd; or even worse, if the Hollow decided to go for someone in the audience instead of one of us. I could sense a couple of people with abnormally traceable reiatsu; although, it was nothing compared to Ichigo's.
Ichigo grabbed the back of Kanonji's jacket, dragging him behind as he ran into the hospital. I ran inside after, bringing up the rear as Ichigo broke his way in through a window. From behind, I could hear the crowd wildly cheering. That must have been quite a sight: Kanonji flying through the air and being drug into the hospital..!
"Why are we running away?!" Kanonji asked as Ichigo drug him along. I think he was looking at me for an answer, but it was hard to tell with those crazy glasses he was wearing.
"You're the one who said to run!" I exclaimed, lightly shaking my head.
"N-No, that's not it! That is it, but!" Kanonji stuttered over the words, not really knowing how to phrase it. "I told you two to run away, by yourselves! Not with me! I can't run away! Oh-!"
Ichigo punched Kanonji straight in the back of the head. It wasn't even a light blow, either! Kanonji was sent flying across the hospital, eventually hitting a wall.
Shaking my head, I sighed. "Ichigo, please be careful with the old man; we can't let anything happen to him. So, try not to kill him."
"Give me a break!" Ichigo seethed, eyes narrowing dangerously. "Since earlier, all you've been saying is, 'I can't run away!' I don't get that reason! Why should we run away and not you?! Explain!"
"That…" Kanonji stated, adjusting his hat back on top of his head, "That is the exact same thing I was going to ask you…"
"I'm the one asking questions here!" Ichigo yelled, crossing his arms and glaring at Kanonji.
Sighing, I shook my head. "Why am I surrounded by idiots?" I muttered, looking back and forth between the strawberry and the spiritualist.
"…Okay…" Kanonji muttered, probably a bit freaked out by Ichigo's previous outburst. After all, many people found the strawberry quite scary.
"You've got to have some reason for saying that, right? Why can't you run away?"
"I can't run away…because…" Kanonji paused, before raising his head and getting back into one of his poses. "I am a hero!"
Ichigo and I had deadpanned expressions, weakly turning our heads to gaze at each other with expressionless faces.
"That's right… Normally, I am a pacifist who does not desire battles… However, as a hero, I cannot turn my back on the enemy!" Kanonji exclaimed, reassuring himself by looking off into the distance and clutching a hand into a fist.
"It's like he's just asking for it…" I muttered, to which Ichigo nodded and let his hands ball into fists at his sides. Honestly, I never really liked this man in the beginning, and he definitely wasn't convincing me to change my opinion of him so far. I think it would be safe to say that my dislike for him grew.
"Boy and girl…" Kanonji stated, gaining our attention once more. "Do either of you know the viewer ratings for my show?"
"Huh?" I asked, blinking in confusion. Where did that come from?
"I don't wanna answer that…" Ichigo darkly mumbled, crossing his arms.
"That is correct!" Kanonji exclaimed, as if we'd given him the right answer. "Twenty five percent! Indeed, one out of every four people in the nation are watching!" I sensed a dark aura coming from Ichigo as his eyes became shadowed, and I slowly moved away from him before he could explode again. "And, the majority of those viewers…are small children. Every week, when it is time, they stick to the TV. To them, I am a hero. They watch my actions in the comfort of their families after dinner. Children watch my actions and their hearts leap. They see me stand up to evil spirits, and… they know what courage is! Don't you two understand? With them watching, I can't run away from the enemy!"
"…Kanonji…" Ichigo muttered, all traces of previous anger towards the spiritualist gone. It looked as if he actually believed Kanonji's speech.
"Right! Now that you know, I'll go back to the meeting place and fight that monster!" Kanonji happily stated, trying to march out of the hospital.
"Wha?! You idiot! You can't do that!" Ichigo yelled, once more clutching onto the fabric of Kanonji's clothes as he tried to hold him back.
"Why not?!" Kanonji asked, his hand on Ichigo's head as he tried to push him off, "I don't want to fight in a place that has no TV cameras! Let go!"
"Then tell me Kanonji; what will you do when you go out there and the audience gets mixed up in the fight?" I asked, looking at the man expectantly.
"Yeah, you're the hero! Protecting your fans is also a hero's duty!" Ichigo added, hoping that it would get through to Kanonji.
"That thing from before is called a Hollow," I explained, removing my hand from my shoulder as I felt the bleeding finally stop. "It goes after souls with a high amount of spiritual pressure and tries to eat them. To put it in even simpler terms, souls with a high spiritual pressure are you, Ichigo, and me. If we enter the hospital this way then he'll definitely come after us. If we fight in here, then there probably won't be any victims from the audience."
"Incredible, girl!" Kanonji complimented. "You are fighting while even thinking about…that…"
The floor suddenly began moving, as the Hollow came from underground. It burst through the floor, near where Ichigo and I were standing. I stumbled to the ground, not expecting it to appear so suddenly. Falling to my injured shoulder, I winced once more as I felt it open up again. Slowly sitting up, I watched as Ichigo withdrew his Zanpakuto, getting ready to fight off the Hollow.
"It's here!" Ichigo exclaimed, hand on his Zanpakuto as he tried to attack. "Come on!"
"Um, Ichigo…" I muttered, blinking in surprise. "There's a slight problem with your Zanpakuto… It's too freaking huge to fight with in this hallway! Dumbass!"
Ichigo stood frozen in the hallway, his Zanpakuto lodged into the ceiling of the hospital. He was stuck.
The Hollow soon spit out a weird looking substance at Ichigo, who wasn't able to doge in time. It hit his hands, which were still gripping on the hilt of his Zanpakuto that was stuck in the ceiling.
"Ouwaa!" Ichigo screeched out in surprise, trying to free his hands. "What is this?! Can't move..!"
"Idiot," I muttered, shaking my head as I rose to my feet and slid Ankoku-Tatsu from her sheath.
"A-All right! Come and get it!" Ichigo shouted at the Hollow as it roared, "I'll take you on with just my legs!"
"You really are idiots; both of you!" I screamed, flash stepping in front of Ichigo once more, kicking Kanonji out of the way, and managed to block the Hollow.
The Hollow flew back once again, keeping its distance. "Did you really think that you were all alone in this fight? Don't count me out. Even if I am injured. I can't let anyone else die."
The Hollow charged once more.
However, this time, Kanonji managed to get in the way. He actually blocked it..!
"Kanonji..?" Ichigo and I questioned at the same time, surprised.
"That's right. Your words inspired me. All of them." Kanonji informed, "Allow me to call the both of you my 'Battle Buddies'!"
"No thanks..!" Ichigo and I screamed in unison once again.
"So, Battle Buddies, allow me to die…" He trailed off for dramatic effect, "Protecting you two!"
"W-What are you trying to do, Kanonji?!" Ichigo questioned as Kanonji started rambling off weird words and syllables.
"Kanonji-Style Final Ultimate Technique~!" Kanonji roared, his fist beginning to lightly glow. "Kanon Ball~!"
"Huh..?" Ichigo asked, watching in shock as a small orb of light floated in Kanonji's palm. Kanonji then proceeded to turn his palm towards Ichigo, the small orb of light directly facing the strawberry. "What's that? What do you plan to do?"
"STRIKE~!" Kanonji ordered, the orb in his hand flashing for a moment before taking off.
The funny thing was it was painfully slow. It floated along slowly, puttering along. It moved centimeter by centimeter. Floating along, it moved straight towards Ichigo. Only, it began ascending once it got close to him. The small orb continued putting along until it reached the ceiling, meeting the area where Ichigo's Zanpakuto was lodged.
Shockingly, it exploded.
"Wha-?" Ichigo asked, his vision being obscured by a cloud of dust raining down on him from the explosion.
"Pull your sword down!" I instructed, hoping that the explosion did enough damage so that Ichigo could remove his sword for the ceiling. I was pleasantly surprised when the strawberry listened to my words and complied; he was able to pull his Zanpakuto from the ceiling.
"It's out..!" Ichigo happily exclaimed, getting back in a fighting stance with his Zanpakuto. "Alright Kanonji, leave the rest to us!"
I used flash step once more, appearing in front of Kanonji. I managed to shove him and myself out of the way as Ichigo charged at the Hollow and managed to pierce its shoulder.
"Damn." Ichigo cursed, grunting a bit.
"You can't aim for the mask properly, can you?" I asked, looking around at our surroundings. The hallway was still too narrow for him to fight freely. "The ceiling is still too low, right?"
"Right," Ichigo muttered.
"Th-That's great, my friends! Teamwork~! That monster is in for it now!" Kanonji cheered, "Now, defeat him like that! If you guys work together, it can be done! I believe! I! Believe! In! You! Two!"
"Why don't you just shut up?! He needs to concentrate, not listen to your cheering!" I screamed, punching Kanonji on the back of his head with my fist.
The Hollow jumped; however, Ichigo was still attached to the Hollow via his Zanpakuto. It made its way through the wall, creating a rather large hole. The Hollow managed to propel itself and Ichigo towards the rooftop.
"Damn it," I cursed, "It's headed towards the roof..!"
"To the roof~!" Kanonji stood up and yelled, appearing in the center of the hole where the cameras could see him. At his cry, the crowd began chanting 'to the roof.'
"Oh no you don't, old man!" I yelled, chasing after Kanonji who was trying to make his way to the roof. "You don't know what you're up against! Just stay back! Ichigo can handle it, so just stay put!"
I ran ahead of Kanonji, taking the stairway up. Running and running, it felt like it took forever to actually reach the roof. And to make matters worse, Kanonji was behind me the whole time, no matter how I tried to persuade him to stay behind..!
"Ichigo!" I yelled, busting through the metal doors and onto the roof. He was in a defensive stance; at least his Zanpakuto was freed from the Hollow now. "Kanonji's on his way; he just won't stay behind..!"
Kanonji burst through the doors right after my statement, causing me to jump in the air in surprise and kick him back down. However, our little outburst caught the Hollows attention. Once its gaze landed on me and Kanonji, it was decided; it was going to get us first!
But I wouldn't let that happen.
"Watch out, Jun!" Ichigo warned as the Hollow made a sharp turn and began to make a beeline straight for us. I nodded, but I wasn't sure if he actually saw that or not.
Drawing Ankoku-Tatsu from her sheath once more, I angled myself so that my good shoulder was in the front as I blocked the Hollows attack. We were in a deadlock for a couple of seconds. I focused some of my reiatsu to my hands, finding the strength to push the Hollow and send it flying back.
Luckily, when I did send the Hollow flying back, it was pushed into the rails on the edge of the roof. It hit the rails near Ichigo, so he easily was able to slice through its mask.
"They did it!" Kanonji cheered, "Great! Wonderful! I believed in you two! As expected of my -"
"Kanonji, don't dance around so cheerfully." I said, watching Ichigo sheathe his Zanpakuto in one smooth movement. I also sheathed my Zanpakuto, lightly wincing once more as I moved my shoulder. Unluckily for me, Ichigo noticed the wince.
"Why?! What are you saying?!" Kanonji asked, surprised. "He defeated that monster! You should be happy about it!"
"Just…watch." I advised, walking over to Ichigo to stand next to him. In doing so, Kanonji was in full view of the disintegrating Hollow.
"What's this?" Kanonji asked, "The monsters body is peeling away..?"
As the reishi peeled away, the spirit's body was visible once more.
"That can't be… I'm sure I sent him to Heaven…" Kanonji muttered, shocked once more. "W-what's the meaning of this..?"
"I thought that Jun explained it perfectly earlier," Ichigo said, gesturing down at me. "That's not a monster; it's a Hollow. Now, I'll turn it over to her."
I sighed once more, shaking my head and wobbling a bit from it. Ichigo put a hand on my good shoulder to help stabilize me, so I decided to go ahead and explain it all once again to Kanonji. "Normal spirits have a chain attached to their chest. When a hole opens in their torn chest, the spirit becomes a monster that has lost its mind. That is a Hollow."
"N-No," Kanonji stuttered as he fell to the ground on his knees. "All this time… I only thought that if I open the hole and cut the chain, it would send them to Heaven… So then, what have I been doing up until now?"
"I don't know the reason behind it, but… until now, you've never seen a spirit explode and turn into a Hollow. Right?" Ichigo asked. "This time was different. You didn't know stuff, like what one does to become a Hollow. I can't say that you shouldn't let it get to you, but regret won't amount to much either."
"But…but I was…so stupid." Kanonji wailed through his tears.
Blinking, I got an idea. I grinned, raising my hand to gently tug on the sleeve of Ichigo's Shihakusho to get his attention. Said strawberry looked down at me, confused. I grinned, pointing over to the audience down below. Ichigo seemed to understand what I was mentioning.
"Hey, put those tears away, hero." Ichigo said, smirking.
"Yeah, everyone is waving..!" I added in, grinning at the spiritualist.
Kanonji walked over to the railing, looking down at the cheering crowd down below. "What's wrong? You should answer them."
"Isn't that a hero's duty?" Ichigo added, causing Kanonji to turn and look at us for a moment.
Kanonji's lips parted open a bit, before he faced the crowd once more.
"Bohahaha~!" Kanonji laughed out, crossing his arms over his chest. The crowd below instantly returned the greeting; quite loudly at that, too.
"Boy…girl… Thank you…" Kanonji spoke, "And it was a superb battle. I… give you my respect. For your courage, quick-wittedness, and strength… From this time forward, please lend me a hand."
Kanonji held out both of his hands, one for each of us. Ichigo and I shared a quick look, before shrugging and taking one of Kanonji's hands in our own.
"Sure," Ichigo volunteered, grasping onto Kanonji's hand with the one that wasn't on my shoulder. I nodded in agreement, lightly shaking Kanonji's hand as well.
If Ichigo got involved, that usually meant that I'd wind up involved as well.
"However, we'll only help every once in a while." I added, making sure that Kanonji knew that we wouldn't answer his every beck and call.
"Thank you, both of you." Kanonji nodded, "From now on, you two are my pupils~!"
Ha. Talk about a huge demotion.
Going from a substitute Shinigami to being a pupil of the number one charismatic spirit medium of this century; that was a huge demotion.
I couldn't even bring myself to laugh about it. Not even when Kanonji wouldn't let us leave until he gave us special edition fan club cards.