BNHA - Arrancar Chronicles: Chapter 17

Previously on Arrancar Chronicles; "This'll be my hero name." Written on the board was 'Laser Hero: Wondershot'. "Still trying to figure it out Kimito-chan?" "...This one keeps standing out to me though." "Kurosaki Clinic?" "Ah. I'm Isshin Kurosaki. Founder of Kurosaki Clinic, and the pro hero; Engetsu." "Somebody really strong is coming in." "...This is my son, Ichigo." "I'm back, and I brought my intern. Come out." "...My name is Rukia Kuchiki. Please take care of me."

Karakura Town

For a medical office that also doubled as a hero agency, there'd been a lot of sounds of fighting coming from the backyard of Kurosaki Clinic over the last three days. The clash of wooden training swords started up around two in the afternoon and proceeded until about five. There were short breaks of course, but the neighbors were beginning to think that filing a complaint might be necessary. "What on earth is Kurosaki-sensei up to?" The gossipping grandmothers traded theories between each other as they met in the streets. They wondered if he might be punishing his son, Ichigo, who was known for occasionally acting like a delinquent, or if the pro hero might be training a successor. The two teens that had been showing up at the clinic the last few days only added fuel to that fire.

In the large back yard of Kurosaki Clinic, said teenagers were currently facing off in another practice match. Isshin and Ichigo both agreed that if the two only sparred with one of the pros they were bound to develop weird habits in combat. In order to make the most of the arrangement, Rukia and Kimito fought against both heros together and separately as well as against each other. The two seemed to have a hard time working together to defeat the adults, but no problem at solo action. Rukia's swordplay was a bit basic in nature and lacked a certain deciding factor. When she couldn't use her quirk at least. Isshin, Ichigo, and Kimito defended against her wide, sweeping blows with ease, but had no other choice than to dodge when her ice showed up. Kimito, however, found ways to dominate even without using his quirk. The speed bursts granted to him by Sonido were extremely hard to counter if you didn't have a clue as to where he was aiming. Everyone was still sporting bruises from the Arrancar's stabbing techniques. He also used those lasers of his to force any opponent into a disadvantaged position.

The current match was the two interns in an all out spar with wooden katanas of course. Kimito was facing Rukia in his favorite stance, turned so she could only see his left with his weapon pointed at the ground. His sharp, black eyes focused on the older girl charging him in a traditional stance. 'Her quirk is about as troublesome as Todoroki-san's.' He pivoted out of her overhead slash just like he did against Isshin. Her style wasn't near flexible enough to change midway through, so he jabbed into her side and lowered his stance. Rukia found herself constantly backpedalling as Kimito kept up a barrage of stabs aimed at her waist. To mix it up, he swung at her legs and forced the girl in black to stay on a defensive retreat. It didn't take long for her back to find the wall that lined the Kurosaki's backyard. Kimito pointed his bokken at her throat. 'But I've beaten Todoroki-san too.' "Do you surrender?"

Her response was to activate a glowing white circle around both of them. The boy had become all too familiar with it as they trained together, and jumped away just as a towering pillar of ice came into being where he was standing. "I will not yield!" Rukia held the wooden katana in both hands and pointed it at Kimito. A moment of concentration led to a wave of ice like Shoto's, but much smaller in scale, chasing after the Arrancar. Kimito rocketed into the air with Sonido. He felt a slight chill on both his feet, and knew that she'd grazed him. Standing on the roof of the miniature glacier, Kimito blasted two beams of rose pink light which slammed the young lady back into the wall she'd gotten a few steps from. Rukia managed to push herself from her stomach onto her back and greedily sucked in air. Kimito, also panting, fell to his knees as her ice began disappearing.

"And that's enough for today!" Isshin used his boisterous voice to announce the end of the match. The kids were really putting their all into each session. Kimito won most of the spars, but that only seemed to be because he was more used to fighting powerful opponents. The Kurosaki patriarch imagined Rukia often trained by herself, and therefore didn't know how and when to use her skills even though she was a second year hero student. Shin'o Academy had to be careful about noble families and quirk practice after all.

Ichigo nodded to himself when the fight was called. His intern still needed more experience. "Good fight you two. Rukia, go wash up and we'll head out on patrol." His black, cloak-like kimono fluttered as he walked back into the clinic. Rukia frowned as she bowed to both Isshin and Kimito, then followed the pro inside without another word.

Isshin approached his intern with a relaxed smile on his face. "You ready for our part, or do you need more time to rest?" He asked. Kimito was still kneeling and breathing hard. Fighting against Isshin or Ichigo for that long would've had him on his back praying for air, but this was okay enough for a friendly spar.

"Some water, please." He managed as he stood up. Isshin told him not to be a stranger, and go help himself. The young Arrancar made his way to the kitchen, passing Karin on her way up to her room, and poured a glass. The refreshing drink in his stomach and the wet feeling in his shoes did a fine job at cooling down his muscles. The sound of the door closing behind him barely registered in his mind. Three hours of intense training will do that to you.

"I know what you are." A female voice whispered out. Kimito shifted to face the girl. Standing there in a black kimono with white undergarments was his sparring partner, Rukia Kuchiki. Her face was freshly washed, but Kimito could see a few hairs were wetly clinging to the side of her face. In the white sash tying her waist was her actual katana, not the one the Kurosakis gave out for practice in the yard. Her purple eyes narrowed at the boy by the sink.

"What do you mean?"

"I looked you up after you beat me so many times yesterday. I figured someone like you must be a bit famous. Imagine my surprise when I found a little article about two special students at U.A." She stepped away from the door. Sharp, black eyes glared into purple. "Your face was almost cut off in the picture, but that blonde kid called you his brother in the video. You're an Arrancar."

Kimito nearly swore. 'This girl's a goddamn Remnant!' The last three days were relatively amicable between Kimito and Rukia. Well, not really. The two didn't have much time for interaction outside of spars. Perhaps that was why they couldn't coordinate well in the matches against the pros. The few times they spoke, he'd been nothing but respectful to his senior. Now everything was ruined. He'd never be able to turn his back on her safely. Kimito idly considered bursting out the window and never returning to Kurosaki Clinic, but figured that might not be worth it. He just needed to get somebody in here. "Do you really wanna go through with this?" 'Maybe I'll just drop the glass cup.'

"Go through with what?" Kimito looked at her confused. "I don't know why you two are out here trying to pretend to be heroes, but I'll be watching. I won't let you do as you please." She declared like some kind of righteous heroine in a manga series. The staredown between the two continued for an unknown amount of time before Ichigo called for Rukia from the front.

"Hey! How long are you going to take in there? I said wash up, not take a shower!" There were sure to be a few complaints from the neighbors. The ice user left the room without turning her back on Kimito.

As the young Arrancar returned to the office where Isshin was waiting, he worried about the few remaining days of his work study. "I didn't tell you I'd be in here." The pro hero tried getting a better idea of the kid's power. Kimito merely tapped at his temple a few times instead of answering. "Alright then. Let's continue from where we left off. You'll be dealing with people's injuries out in the field, and sometimes they won't be able to tell you what's going on." Isshin lectured him for a few minutes on why his hero costume should include medical supplies that are commonly needed. At the very least, he wanted Kimito to consider a tool belt or pouch with bandages, gauze, and antiseptic wipes. Something to help blood clotting or perhaps a burn gel might also be additions that the boy should look into. "When you're treating patients in an active situation, you'll need to use your eyes and gut first. Everyone wants help. Prioritize people in critical condition, and do your best to stabilize them." They didn't have anyone currently in need, so Isshin had Yuzu bring in pictures of people with varying injuries. Kimito was allowed one question for each picture, and tried his best to figure out who needed to be tended to first and how. The blonde twin sat nearby with a smile as the braided cadet struggled with a picture of an elderly man with a gash on his leg, and a five year old girl who was brought in unconscious with a small cut on her forehead.

That lesson continued for a while until the pro asked his daughter to retrieve the cpr dummy. "Now Wondershot-kun, you have to be very careful with this part." He forewarned. Heroes were typically much stronger than the average person. It was possible for them to use the right technique while performing chest compression, but end up injuring people unintentionally. He taught the boy how to check for breathing and pulse, even going so far as to lay on the ground and hold his breath so Kimito could understand it better.

The three, Yuzu stayed for the remaining lessons, wrapped it all up around the time Ichigo and Rukia came back to the house at 8. Kimito bowed to his teachers respectfully, and wished them a good night. "Ah, wait Kimito-kun." Isshin called out to the boy in the street. The adult jogged over to have a final word. "Are you sure you don't want to try doing a patrol with Ichigo? You aren't going to be working in a hospital after all, and it's an essential part of being a professional hero. I don't usually go out unless he calls for back-up, or isn't working."

Kimito gave a small smile to his sincere mentor. "No thank you sir. I'll save that part for sometime later."

The founder waved the teen off since there was no changing his mind. He only asked that the lad consider it a bit while he has the chance. "Ichigo and I also have a surprise for you and Rukia at the end of the week. I hope you'll look forward to it."

Takahashi Apartments

A dark, silent apartment greeted the lone Arrancar after a long day. "I'm home." He said to the emptiness. Summer was approaching, but the room felt cold like a desert night.

Kimito merely stared at his futon as he stood in the small hallway. He could still feel Wonderweiss wrapped in his arms from the night of the sports festival. The image of how they laid there painted itself out in front of the boy. 'Wonderweiss.' Just on the other side of his freckled, younger brother was a dark form with hair made out of gold. "Nii-san." A whisper, like saying the true name of a god. Kimito imagined what they must have looked like that night. A tangled, bundled up mess of limbs. 'But he managed to slip right out from in between us. I should've held onto him harder.' His black ponytail shook side to side. Kimito drew himself a bath, and tried to scrub away the feelings that plagued him. The hot water just made him think more though. He wondered about the burn on his brother's head. The stinging sensation along his skin couldn't be anything compared to what the younger Arrancar had gone through. Kimito slid into his bedding with unshed tears in his eyes.

Class 1-A the next morning

"Kimito-san, are you humming?" Kyoka Jiro asked her class president during their free period. Her sensitive ears had picked up the sound a while ago, but she wasn't able to ask in the middle of class. She was trying to focus to pass her midterms after all. The non stop humming was just a bit too distracting. Not annoying. Distracting. The musically inclined girl couldn't imagine that there were any words to go along with his tune, but the song he played out was deeply emotional. Kyoka felt herself riding waves that were crashing against a sheer cliff. It spoke of an intense battle and tragic loss, then moved to a feeling of sacrifice and a hopeful future. The fact that the boy seemed unaware that he was even doing it worried the girl slightly. She'd seen her parents do something similar while upset. It was like a way of venting pent up feelings.

"Huh? Oh, I... guess I was." Kimito was back to blankly moving through classes after taking that call in the middle of math the other day. "I'm not too good at singing, so I tend to do that instead." She asked if he was making that tune up on his own, or if he'd heard it somewhere. "I think it's from a movie. 'Tears of Life'. A Fraccion taught it to me." He smiled fondly at the memory. The students of 1-A had taken to trying to remind the Arrancar of his homeland in some way when he seemed especially down. "It's uhh, a healing song."

'A healing song?' More than a few eavesdroppers thought to themselves. "What does that mean? If you don't mind my asking." Kyoka continued.

The son of Yammy looked into the air as if searching for the words to explain himself. "Well, it's kinda like we believe songs carry wishes. Sometimes even grant wishes." To the class, it sounded like the old tradition of a tribe or village. A primitive sort of thing that was strange to hear coming from their classmate. "It really works. Nii-san sang for rain once, and it came." Kimito's eyes easily caught the disbelief in expressions around him, and thought it didn't seem like they'd be able to understand. "Ah. Don't worry about it." It looked like Jiro was going to say something, but he cut her off. "I'll try to cut back." Her face fell as he turned away. The class president was back to silent brooding, and for the life of her, Kyoka couldn't decide which might be worse.

Omake

Unknown to most of the students of 1-A, a certain report was making it's way around the country and some parts of the world. Being broadcast for all interested parties to see…

"Scandal in the world of Japanese boxing as Featherweight champion, Ippo Makunouchi, tests positive for having a quirk." The newscaster reveals somberly. To the audience, it's clear that the man is one of the many fans of the Comeback Kid. He understands the implications, has an idea of the consequences, and all of it pains him. "The WBA became aware that the young champion had never been tested for a quirk like other athletes from an anonymous source, and asked that one be administered to clear up the oversight." Seemingly overcome by emotion, the reporter passes the story to his co-host.

"Makunouchi's results revealed what has been named Fighting Instinct. It is a defensive quirk that only activates when the young man is rendered unconscious. Fighting Instinct forces his body to remain standing and continue fighting back to a certain extent. Whispers are already beginning to circulate that the activation of this quirk might have saved the Featherweight champ in some of his matches early in his career. It's possible that, through the support of his quirk, Makunouchi Ippo managed to rise in popularity as a boxer who continued even when others would have dropped."

The two reporters continue on this segment for a fair amount of time as they highlight the fumbled responsibilities of the athlete, coach, and organization. With respect to fairness in competitive sports, all participants have been required to submit information regarding their quirks since an American football player used his Instant quirk to dominate the NFL 23 years ago…