Outside the house stands Orihime, who is watching the boy who ran off to the Muscle Tower as the snow and wind collide together.
"Honestly, what were you thinking when you told him about the Muscle Tower?!" Suno criticizes from behind, clenching her fists as she glares at her sister.
"I dunno." Orihime turns around to face her sibling.
"What do you mean you don't know?! He might get killed!" Suno argues.
"Calm down, Suno…" The mother calmly diffuses the situation before looking at Orihime. "Though I do wish you didn't tell that boy. I don't know what possessed him to just charge against a group of armed men…"
"I'm not sure either, momma." Orihime looks back at the snowy environment, where the boy ran off to. "I… just felt like I could trust him. I don't know how to explain it."
Ichigo walks around in a circle, his Power Pole still in hand as he detects multiple enemies inside the tower. From the looks of things, he didn't see air vents or any other alternatives that'd allow him to sneak past in.
"Welcome to the Muscle Tower, brat!" Ichigo tensed before looking up to where an intercom was calling out to him. "I have to say, I'm surprised you made it here without getting yourself killed! Tell me, what did you come all this way here for?!"
Ichigo ponders whether he should tell his motivations or not. He didn't exactly want to risk chances of pissing off someone who seems to be in charge of this place, besides it's not like these guys will be strong enough to stop him either way.
"I came here to take back the chief of this village that you kidnapped!" Ichigo announces.
For a moment there was silence. And then the microphone responded, "Ho-ho, we got ourselves a tough one here! You want to save the chief? Very well then, to do that you'll have to climb to the highest level. I'm sure you can find a door that'll lead you right where you need to go. Let's see how long you'll last."
'What is this, a video game?' Ichigo thinks as he walks around the circle before finding a nearby door. 'Who the hell just tells someone how to save their hostage? Well either way, I don't see much of an alternative.' He crosses over the thought of just bursting through the door with a Ki blast, but he didn't want to bring too much attention.
Ichigo holds his small hand on the handle and finds that it is locked. Well, that didn't matter, as he all had to do was bust through. He kicks the door, sending it flying until it lands on the ground. He walks through the open corridor and finds a dozen men sitting on their seats until he disturbs them. One of them immediately pulls a pocket knife before slowly setting it down, as they all come to a stunning silence at the sight of a child.
"What the…?"
"It's just a kid…"
"That ain't no ordinary kid if he could get through a place like this. Must have torn through the guys on the outside."
"Hey, General White!" One of the men steps forward as he cracks his knuckles, looking towards an intercom. "What do ya want us to do with the kid?!"
"Do what you please." The General responds. "Kill him if you have to."
"Is something interesting happening, General White?"
"Who's there?" General White asks as he turns away from the camera to see who was calling out to him.
"Master Sergeant Murasaki." Moving with inhuman swiftness, the man in question dashes from left to right in a dramatic fashion before the purple clothed ninja gets behind the general. "I heard that someone broke through the Muscle Tower. I wanted to see if it was true."
"You better believe it, Sergeant." General White replies as he turns his attention towards the camera. "Feast your eyes on this…"
"So, who's gonna beat him first?"
"Nah, I say we kill him right away."
"No, no, let's give him a little scare first." A man in a mohawk hair says as he cracks his knuckles, eagerly waiting to beat the child. "So, small fry, just to make this a little fair—"
"You're in the way," Ichigo replies bluntly as he takes his Power Pole out. "Extend." He swings his weapon horizontally, slamming 3 men at once as he sends them flying on a wall, their bodies colliding against a wall, blood scattering as their heads make a hard impact.
The men in the room become stunned. Their brains are processing what had just occurred. "So who's the next idiot?" Ichigo asks rhetorically.
That's when they snap, their eyes fueling for bloodlust. "Kill the brat!" One of them shouts before they lunge at the youth.
Ichigo responds simply by putting his other hand on the pole and swinging it horizontally, hitting most of the men and sending them flying across the room, breaking bones and giving more than enough bruises to render them unconscious. He swings it to his right side, but only one man ducks while the rest get sent flying.
The man grabs for a gun, aiming it towards Ichigo. "You snot nosed little… take this!" The man shoots a bullet at Ichigo, to which the latter responds by leaving an After image behind, making the bullet pass through the image. "Wh… what the—"
"Boo." Ichigo says, showing himself to be behind the man, whose eyes went wide. Ichigo takes him out with a clean hook to the face, knocking the man unconscious.
"What the hell did he do just now?!" General White asks as he is stunned at seeing the boy's capabilities, and the last trick he pulled off.
"I heard of this…" Murasaki hums to himself as he observes Ichigo's progress. "It's an Afterimage technique, an advanced form of martial arts that combines both speed and illusion to leave a fake image of yourself. I never expected to see it from such a young boy."
"Alright, I get it, he's good." General White rolls his eyes at what he deems as nonsense. "Now let's see how long he'll fair up on the next level. Think he'll make it past that?"
"I highly doubt that." Murasaki scoffs. "One of Gero's toys will be too much for him. And even if he somehow makes it past that, he won't have enough strength to face me on the next floor."
"So how long do you think he's gonna last against Major Metallitron?" General White asks.
"I'd say a minute at worst." Murasaki answers.
"Well, that was easy…" Ichigo says as he begins to climb up the stairs that leads him to the next floor. "Though it's starting to get hot in here…" The boy remarks as he begins to take off his jacket, though he can't help but ponder where he'd put it.
As he climbed the last set of stairs, he found it odd that there was no enemy that he could sense nearby. Ichigo wonders if it was due to a serious lack of security or if they were overconfident in whatever sick things they did.
He reached the next floor, and right next to him stood a sight that he couldn't believe what he was seeing. On a chair sat a massive, hulking figure that stood 10 feet tall. He wore a sleeveless, blue tank top, black gloves, green sweatpants, and a pair of black boots that supported his humongous size. His facial features didn't show much, other than him wearing a shade of sunglasses and crimson red hair. His face was quite stern.
"What the…?!" Ichigo becomes puzzled. 'I didn't sense this guy at all! How did he manage to get past my sensory abilities?!' Nonetheless, he took a stance, preparing for battle. "So you're my next opponent? If you expect me to be intimidated by your size then you guys need better employment."
The bulky figure says nothing as he gets up from the chair he sits on and walks towards the youth. "The staircase leading to the next level is over there." The figure points his finger towards the staircase next to them, its design is the same as the last, "Unfortunately, you won't get the chance to pass the next level, because you're about to die!"
Major Metallitron throws a punch aiming for the boy, to which Ichigo seemingly vanishes in thin air, making Metallitron miss and hit the metal ground, forming a crater the size of his fist. Metallitron, stunned, looks around for his enemy. "Where did he go?" He asks out loud in confusion.
If he had looked up, he would see Ichigo dangling in mid air, hanging onto a chain that connected to more chains in mid air. 'No matter how I try, I can't sense this guy at all. But why?' The former Substitute Soul Reaper was confused, but he was determined to find out as he let go of the chain and fell down until he landed on Metallitron's large shoulder. "You're mine!" Ichigo yells before swinging his fist, successfully landing a blow against the giant as the latter falls down on the ground.
'Is that it?' Ichigo blinks in surprise. 'Huh, well that was easier than I thought,' The young boy turns around and begins to walk towards the stairs. 'Still… that was weird. It was only for a moment but his movements didn't resemble human. It's not like that of an animal either, it felt different…' Ichigo clenches his fist before looking at the staircase.
He hears movements, which make his eyes go wide. He turns around to see Metallitron already getting back up. 'The hell?! They usually stay down after the first blow!' The hulking figure swings his arms in an attempt to grab Ichigo, but the boy responds by grabbing both of the giant's arms by his wrists.
"Nnngh…!" Metallitron uses 100% of his strength, his veins bulging out of his arms as he struggles to grab Ichigo and squeeze him to death. The giant gives everything he has, yet his efforts are outmatched by Ichigo's own phenomenal strength.
"Ok, whatever you are… you wanna be rough?" Ichigo throws Metallitron's arms, making the giant stumble before Ichigo springs from the ground and kicks Metallitron against the wall, head colliding first.
Ichigo landed on the ground, as he had put more effort into that attack, the same amount he put in the World Martial Arts Tournament. 'Something definitely isn't right. This guy feels harder to hit. Who is he any—' His thoughts become interrupted as to his surprise he sees Metallitron getting back up already. 'What the hell?! Where did they find this guy?!'
Metallitron rushes towards Ichigo at speeds too fast for the eye to follow, getting right in front of Ichigo, before he puts his foot down to crush the reincarnated Saiyan, only for Ichigo to jump out of the way. To the boy's surprise, the giant reacts quickly despite his bulk as he throws a clean hit at Ichigo's face, drawing blood from him as he gets thrown in the air before crashing against the wall, falling down on the ground.
"Welp... looks like this match has been decided." General White states as leans back some more on his chair, putting his hands at the back of his head and pads one leg over his other one.
"2 minutes have passed…" Murasaki hums as he brushes his clean chain. "That certainly took longer than I expected. The boy is quite an expert at fighting as well."
Ichigo groans as he begins to get up. He felt blood trickling from his head from the force of the impact. "Nngh…" He groans in pain for the first time since he came here. He casts a glance at the hulking giant, who walks towards him. 'I don't get a damn thing as to what's going on here…' He thinks. 'This guy doesn't feel normal. I can't sense his energy, and he feels like I'm hitting metal instead of flesh.'
Before he realizes it, Metallitron stands right next to him, and the giant raises his leg before he uses it to try and crush him. Ichigo recovers just enough to roll out of the way, putting his hands and feet onto the ground and launching in the air, hitting Metallitron in the jaw with his foot, making the giant stumble backwards. 'Now my attacks don't even send him flying?!' Ichigo observes the difference in their battle. 'And my foot is aching!'
Metallitron looks at his young opponent, his gaze as stoic as ever. For a moment, Ichigo could have sworn he saw the giant's sunglasses glow red. He stands still, and Ichigo ponders what his next move should be. Metallitron opens his mouth wide open, and to Ichigo's shock, he fires a bazooka from his mouth. "What the fu—" Ichigo dodges out of the way, but with his senses still on edge, the teenage turned boy looks to see the bazooka change its trajectory and is coming back at him.
It's a tracking rocket. Ichigo runs away from it, as he tries to figure out just how he could get away from it. The space was too small for him to direct the rocket somewhere else. Ichigo runs into a wall, and he widens his eyes when the rocket closes in on him, making a big explosion when it comes in contact.
"Hahahahaha!" General White laughs as he throws his head back. "Aw man, after all that, we were worried for nothing!"
"Quite a brutal way for a child to die like that…" Murasaki mutters.
"I gotta say tho, that's the first time I've ever seen Metallitron go all out like that. The kid did better than anyone else has, I'll give him that much." General White adds with a smug look. "Sucks he got blown to smithereens though."
'That was close.' Ichigo thinks as he hides behind a pillar, looking at the giant man thing. He thinks back to when he nearly ran into a wall, at the last second using the After Image technique to get away from the blast, a reaction caused by instinct.
Right now Metallitron seems to be celebrating, putting two fingers forming a "Peace" sign and repeating "Thank you!" over and over, remaining completely oblivious to the fact Ichigo was still alive.
'That was a bazooka he just launched. From his mouth. I think that settles it, this guy might be a robot. It could explain why I couldn't sense his energy, or why he felt so hard to hit, or why he shot a frigging bazooka at me, from his mouth no less.' Ichigo lets his battle experience come in hand. 'If that's the case then I don't need to hold back anymore. A robot… this is a first.' He recalls his previous battles, and he couldn't help but smile as he never had to face a robot before. He then settles his face into a scowl. 'Alright, no more kidding around. Time to end this.'
He cups his hands together to focus on his attack, charging with enough power to shatter mountains. "Kame…" Ichigo announces, making his presence known, as he couldn't fire his attack without the chant yet.
"Hm?!" Metallitron turns around, and immediately recognizes it's from the child he thought was previously killed. "No! It can't be!"
"Hame…" Ichigo steps out of his hiding spot, facing the robot directly. Metallitron begins to run after him. Ichigo stares at him dead in the eye, not the least bit phased by his charge. "HA!" He finishes his chant as he fires a powerful blue beam of energy at the mechanical giant.
The Kamehameha makes its way before it rips right through the giant, cleaning him in half, malfunctioning his circuits as it ripped more than half his upper body. When that was done, instead of blood gushing, all that remained were mechanical parts of the giant, revealing he was indeed a robot like Ichigo presumed.
"Phew…" Ichigo sighs, glad he only used less than half the power. He needed to save his strength for now. "Now that should be over." He turns away and begins to walk towards the staircase.
General White and Murasaki are in utter shock at what they have just witnessed. Their eyes bulge out of their sockets, and their mouths are left agape.
"Wh… what the hell was that just now?!" General White turns towards the ninja, his face demanding for explanation.
"That… was the famous Kamehameha…" Murasaki begins to sweat, his body shaking. "But that's impossible… only one man in existence was capable of performing such a feat, and nobody knows where he is!"
"Just what the hell is this brat?!" General White exclaims.
The destroyed, broken parts of Metallitron come to life as he raises his leg. Once a sound is picked up by Ichigo's ears, he turns to look towards the metallic, broken pieces of Metallitron, and becomes shocked once he sees this. His guard is left loose, and as such he couldn't react in time when Metallitron kicks him across the hallway, crashing against a wall before falling down on his back.
"Aghhhh…" Ichigo groans in pain as he rubs where he got kicked. "What the hell… there's no way that thing is still moving after all that."
As impossible as it seemed, Metallitron was still alive, sort of, if his legs could count as such. Metallitron, still conscious of his surroundings, hurles at the young boy. Ichigo picks himself up and leaps away from another kick by Metallitron. Not wanting to waste more energy, Ichigo unsheathes his Power Pole, and readies a stance.
"Haha! The kid is in for it now!" General White comments with excitement. "He's about to learn the true terror of facing an invulnerable android!"
'You'd think that I destroyed all his chips when I blew half his body to smithereens!' Ichigo thinks to himself as he avoids a kick from the mechanical giant. 'What's keeping this thing going?! Is the CPU or whatever in its legs?!'
Ichigo goes for an offensive, swinging his pole horizontally, making a cut in its legs. The legs continue to fight as they swing in an attempt to counter Ichigo's attacks, but the boy is skilled enough to parry his attacks, unleashing lethal attacks. The left leg and the Power Pole collided with one another, and then came a struggle between the two objects. "Extend!" Ichigo commands, and the Power Pole pushes back the torn android.
The spiky-haired boy lunges forward, unleashing a ruthless barrage of attacks on the legs, making sure to destroy every part of the robot so it'd stop attacking him. "Just! Stay! Down!" Ichigo yells loudly, battering the robot with his pole, pouncing it with all his might. He sees red as he brutally dismembers every part of the robot, making sure to leave nothing behind.
He bashes the robot over and over, as scraps of metal come out of the legs. Before long, all that remained on the floor were pieces of metal and nothing else. Ichigo puffs and huffs as he finally finishes the accursed robot. When regaining his composure, he comes to a sudden realization of his violence. 'Wow… where did that come from?' Ichigo wonders as he sheathes his Power Pole.
Shaking his head, the young man hurries along as he ascends to the next floor.
"I... I don't believe it… he actually beat Metallitron." General White stammers in nervousness as he and his companion are left baffled by the results.
"Such power… just who is this boy?" Murasaki ponders.
"Hey!" General White yells at the purple ninja. "He's heading to the fourth floor, that's the one you're supposed to defend! Get your butt in gear!"
"Right! Of course!" Murasaki musters the confidence he had within himself as he dashes towards his destination.
Ichigo continues to run upstairs towards the 4th level, his mind focused as he concentrates on rescuing the chief of the village. As he approaches closer, he feels that something is off. By the time he makes it to the 4th floor, he is met with complete and utter darkness, a pitch so black he couldn't see a thing despite his enhanced eyesight.
"What the hell…?" Ichigo mutters as he carefully walks around the dark environment. 'It's so dark in here… you can't see a thing.' Ichigo thinks to himself. The youth begins walking to where he senses an unknown energy force nearby, only to be met with hitting against an object.
The pain was minor, but annoying. 'Son of a…' He rubs his face. 'If I still had my Soul Reaper powers I'd be able to…' Realizing what he was thinking, Ichigo shakes his head and continues walking forward. 'The enemy is close by… I can feel it. Now if only I could just tell where the hell I'm going.' Childishly, he puts his hands in front so that he doesn't get hit.
Suddenly, he senses murderous intent, and under pure instinct, he leaps in the air as he hears sharp weapons making contact with the ground. 'What the hell?!' Ichigo thinks as he lands on solid ground. Once again he dodges from several sharp objects being thrown at him. 'Again?!' The young Saiyan continues to evade the unknown weapons being thrown at him, till he crashes against a solid object. "Shit!" Ichigo cusses as he makes a backflip before kunais are thrown, missing him completely as they hit a boulder instead.
"Damn, just where the hell is..." Ichigo mutters before his facial expression changes into confusion. He blinks before looking around. 'Am I seeing things more clearly? In a dark place such as this? Wait, my eyes are adjusting to the darkness!' Ichigo realizes.
He begins to run over to the source of the energy signature, all the while he begins to see kunais and shurikens alike coming at him at high speeds. Ichigo leaps like a frog, jumping from left to right. He finds a tree close by and takes cover from behind before a pair of kunais strike against the tree.
"You know you might as well come on out. I know where you are." He bluntly says. "So hiding is pointless. Come on out and fight me!"
For a moment, silence rang in the endless darkness before a cackle reverberated across the corridors. "Hahahahaha…" The assailant laughs. "You've done well to come this far, child, but I'm afraid this is where you meet your end. At the hands of the Messenger of Death... Ninja Murasaki!" The enemy exclaims. "Anyone who has seen my shadow, let alone my face, has not lived to tell about it!"
'Ah man, why does he sound like a cliché supervillain that brags about how strong they are?' Ichigo wittingly thinks with a silent snark. 'But his voice is coming from all directions. Well not that it matters, I can sense him where he's at, and that's all I need.'
The boy perks up as he senses Murasaki moving from one location to another. Before long, he widens his eyes when he feels Murasaki closing in on him from behind. Ichigo leaps from the ground, and Murasaki slashes with quick precision, slashing the tree in half instead.
"What?!" Murasaki exclaims in shock as he jumps back, with Ichigo standing at front. 'That shouldn't have been possible! He can't see in this darkness, let alone dodge the way he did just now?!' The sergeant points an accusing finger at Ichigo. "You! How did you avoid that just now?!"
"Beats me." Ichigo shrugs his shoulders before going ahead of pulling out his Power Pole. "Now how about you stand aside and let me pass through. I already dealt with one of your guys down below, so how about you don't waste any time and let me pass through."
"Eh?" The Ninja blinks for a moment before he bursts laughing. "An amusing joke! Well, you are a child after all! Now then—" Murasaki vanishes from his spot, moving like a blur as he dashes from one location to another.
"Of course it has to be the hard way…" Ichigo puts both of his hands on his own weapon, and studies his surroundings. He watches as the purple-clad ninja leaps from a tree to the ground, to the roof of a house, to then leaping on the ground to a tree.
The teenage-turned-boy continues to watch, studying his surroundings so he can make the correct strike. The pattern somewhat switches from time to time, but nonetheless, it is clear to Ichigo he is being underestimated, and he intends to use that to his advantage.
'There!' Ichigo thinks as he readies his attack. "Extend!" He swings his pole in a horizontal manner as the pole extends just long enough to perfect his timing as he hits Murasaki dead on. The man yelps in pain before falling off a tree branch and hits the ground head first.
"W... Why you little—" Murasaki rubs his nose, before widening his eyes as he sees Ichigo jumping at him at incredible speed before he gets struck by Ichigo's foot, landing squarely on his face before sending the ninja flying across the air and hitting the dome.
"Well, that takes care of that." Ichigo sheaths his weapon before rubbing his hands. The boy sprints towards the stairs that leads him to the next level.
"This… this is madness!" General White exclaims in anger as he clenches his fists. "No way has Master Sergeant Murasaki been defeated so easily!"
At that moment, a man wolf soldier steps into the room, holding a tray of food and coffee on top as he walks over to a bookshelf and presses his gloved index finger against a wall next to the shelf. The bookshelf opens upwards, revealing a prison bar, and in it stood an old man, trapped in a tiny prison.
"Hey, you old buzzard. It's lunchtime for you." The soldier rudely comments.
"I don't feel hungry. Leave me alone." The old village chief replies, not turning to face the soldier. "How can I be so calm when so many of my people are suffering from the outside."
"Oh, guess you haven't heard then." The soldier puts the tray down on a table.
"What haven't I heard?"
"Get this…" The soldier chuckles in a dark manner. "Some kid bust through the Muscle Tower, all on his own, no help whatsoever." The village chief turns around to face the animal man with a look of shock. "Though I wouldn't be so surprised. By now he's probably been beaten to a bloody pulp, or shot, or blast to itsy bitsy pieces."
"What…?! A child?! By himself?!" The village chief simply couldn't believe what he was hearing. "No… how can you be so cruel as to kill a child?!"
"Look, old man, I couldn't care less if it was an old hag or whatever, we made it very clear nobody messes with the Red Ribbon, and they should have long since learned that by now." The wolf man coldly replies without a care. "Now eat your food before it gets cold."
Ichigo runs atop the stairs, readying for whatever comes after him next. Suddenly he hears an unnatural groan, and it makes Ichigo halt his steps. He pulls out his Power Pole, readying for a fight as he cautiously approaches the unknown entity. To him, it didn't sound human, so he had to get rid of it.
When he approached the source of the mysterious noise, he was surprised by what he saw. A huge figure crouched behind prison bars, with chain collars wrapped around his wrists, ankles, and neck. "What the…" Ichigo couldn't find the words to muster at what he was looking at.
To him, it looked like the reincarnation of Frankenstein himself. 'I couldn't sense him at all…' Ichigo notes. 'Is he some robot like the one before?' He remembers his earlier fight with Metatrollion.
"Who are you?" The humongous figure asks in a neutral tone.
"I'm the guy who's here to save a village chief. And from what I'm guessing, you're here to stop me, is that right?" Ichigo prepares himself as he slowly starts backing away.
For a moment, the hulking figure says nothing as he gives an empty stare. "No." The figure replies. "I do not want to fight. I do not like violence. Fighting is bad."
"Eh?" Ichigo's face switches to a mixture of confusion and shock. "Come again?" He thinks that this Red Ribbon must have had bugs in their system. A humongous, killer-looking robot not ought for his blood? This must be a trap.
"I was kept down here in case the likes of you ever showed up. But I do not wish to cause senseless violence. Will you help me get out of here? I know a way you can reach the sixth floor, you won't be able to find it on your own." The figure says.
"What are you talking about?" Ichigo crosses his arms.
"The staircase that you were heading towards is a maze, and there are secret entrances that you won't be able to find on your own." The figure says. "I promise that if you free me, then I'll help you find the village chief."
'He looks so sincere…' Ichigo thinks as he sheathes his Power Pole. 'But can I really trust this guy? I mean… he's chained up for a reason. But if that's the case then why hasn't he broken free and tried to fight me already?' Ichigo ponders over his decision.
It could be a trap, after all, what were the chances of this robot wanting to help him? Yet despite the horrors of war, there was still a soft spot left for Ichigo that couldn't help but think he was being sincere. 'Ah, what the hell. Worst case scenario I just beat him up if he tries to trick me.' He decides, as he unsheathes his Power Pole, and with a diagonal swing, he cuts apart all 5 titanium alloy steel beams with ease.
The crouching robot begins to walk from his cage before leaving it, exposing his impressive figure, but he is still chained. "Alright…" Ichigo remains hesitant, but nonetheless ready to comply with freeing the robot. "Let me get those off you—"
"There is no need." The robot replies in a calm manner. "I can break these out by myself." As if to prove his point, he strengthens his cybernetic muscles and breaks through the titanium chains with brute force alone, and the chains clash on the ground.
'Did you even need me to break out of your cage?' Ichigo thinks with a sweatdrop at the back of his head.
"Come on. Let us go." The robot begins to walk, with Ichigo following him behind.
The boy and the machine begin to climb the stairs, and once they reach their destination, Ichigo is surprised to see a maze-like corridor surrounding the floor. "What the hell…?" Ichigo looks around. "Is this actually the 5th floor?"
"No." The robot shakes his head. "Right now we are between the 4th and 5th floor. This place was designed to confuse the intruders by building a maze that confuses one's senses." The robot informs him.
"Tell me about it. I feel dizzy from just looking at this place." Ichigo comments with a snark.
They continue to walk around the maze, looking to find an exit. The robot said that he knew the map of this place due to having already seen this place before, but the strange thing was that each time they thought they were getting close, they ran into a dead end, and were forced to turn back time and time again.
"Say… what exactly is your name, if you have one that is." Ichigo says, his hands put together at the back of his head.
"My name is Android #8." The machine answers him nonchalantly.
"Android…?" Ichigo perks at this, as though not expecting to hear this, but also confused by what sounds like a codename.
"Yes, I was created for the Red Ribbon Army to serve them and fight… but... I don't like fighting. It's bad." The Android says, shaking his head at the prospect of fighting. He then notices Ichigo having a frown on his face. "Is something the matter?"
"No, just…" A flood of memories flushed into Ichigo's brain. Images of an old man, 2 people he remembers, and a bug creature from his previous childhood life. "Something came up… so you're an android?"
"That is correct."
"Well no way am I going by your full codename, so I'll call you something else." Ichigo casually remarks as he tries to think of a name. "Maybe a nickname of sorts…" He tries to think of a fitting name for the android. "How about Eigthter?"
"Eighter…?" The Android looks at the boy with remarkable confusion. "Why Eighter?"
"Your full name is a pain to remember, besides, you act more human than a machine anyways." Ichigo casually responds, shrugging his shoulders. "If you don't like it then I can try coming up with a new one."
"No, that is alright," Eighter responds. "Eighter… Eighter… Eighter…" He hums to himself, giving a pleased smile. "I like it."
'What an odd guy…' Ichigo thinks to himself. To him, it was strange being paired with a mechanical robot that had emotions just like a human. It was odd. Why was it like that? Why keep something like this as a secret weapon when it — he refuses to lift a finger. What was the point? It just didn't add up.
The duo continued to walk around the maze, and it was beginning to annoy Ichigo. They kept running from one dead end to another. "Hey, not to be rude or anything but are you sure you know where you're going? It feels like we're going in the same direction over and over." Ichigo expresses his annoyance.
"I'm sorry. But I could swear that we're going the right path. I just don't understand why we haven't reached the stairs yet…" Eighter muses, puzzled as to why they haven't reached the top floor already.
"Hah! Those boneheads!" General White exclaims with a smug look, watching as he manipulates the corridors through remote controls on his pad. On his screen display digitized versions of Ichigo and his Android companion, cluelessly walking around the maze as he pressed one button after the other to give dead ends so they don't reach the final level. "They don't realize what's really going on!"
To the general, this was nothing more than a childish game he couldn't help but giggle at how clueless the child and the traitorous robot were. But all games must teach their end, and the general has a twisted idea as to how to end it.
"Y'know, something just occurred to me, and don't ask why I didn't think of this earlier, but why not just blow up the damn things so we can get this over with faster?" Ichigo suggests as he rolls his shoulders, stretching them. "Cause we're going nowhere like this."
"I… am not sure if that's wise. Causing such destruction might attract too much attention—" Eighter tries to reason with the former war hero, only to get cut off.
"I don't mean wreck the whole place, just bust through some walls. And besides, even if it attracts attention, what can anyone do about it?" Ichigo arrogantly proposes. "We're getting close to the end again, aren't we?"
"Yes, but—"
"Don't worry, everything is gonna be fine. I promise you that." Ichigo gives a smile before he and Eighter run into another dead end again. "Alright, take a few steps back. Cause I dunno how big the explosion is gonna be for this."
"Uh… okay…" Eighter does so, taking several steps back as the spiky-haired Saiyan puts his hand out in front, charging a Ki blast before firing it at the wall. The result ends with the wall making a hole big enough to easily fit through Ichigo, but not enough to compensate for Eighter's humongous body.
"See, told ya nothing would happen," Ichigo says with amusement before leaping through the now empty hole. "Hang on, I'll get you to the other side really quick."
General White widens his eyes as he sees Ichigo blowing up the trap he set with the unknown energy ball he had just used. "Wh — What the hell is this kid?!" The man could not believe what he was witnessing.
He begins to grow anxious. If those two got their way through the corridor, then it spells doom for him. His only two hopes that remain are his troops and the trap doors.
Right now, Eighter has crossed the other side thanks to Ichigo's help, and due to his own brute strength in ripping apart the walls.
"Alright, so we go this way, right?" Ichigo points his thumb toward the staircase next to them. "Cause I can sense there's somebody up there on the last floor."
"Yes, by heading there you will reach the 6th floor." Eighter confirms as he nods his head.
"Alright, let's go and get this over with then." Ichigo says as he begins to take his first steps towards the stairs, with Eighter following his trail.
However, to both their surprise, the staircase seems to move with a mind of its own as it flips. Ichigo tries to stop it by clinging to the wall with his bare hands, pushing his feet against the staircase. However, Eighter wasn't as quick as he was caught off balance, and as such he fell down to a pitch, dark hole. Ichigo also loses his balance as gravity pushes him down, following Eighter's fate as he also falls down into darkness.
"The hell was that?!" Ichigo yells as he feels himself slipping through what feels like a tunnel.
Eighter couldn't answer as he was in shock. The duo continued to slide down, and they couldn't do anything to stop their fall. It doesn't take long before they see the light at the end of their descent before they slide through the open space and fall down on rock, solid ground. The hole they just got through closes on its own.
"What was that all about…?" Ichigo asks as he rubs his head in pain. When he opened his eyes, he saw there was nothing but a small room full of bricks surrounding them, it was a rather small space. "Where are we?"
"Allow me to congratulate you for making it this far, kid! No-one has ever gotten to where you're at right now!" Ichigo turns around to see an intercom pinned against a wall, and the same voice from before speaks through. 'But unfortunately, your luck ends right here! You and that traitorous robot just landed on the worst level of them all! The fifth floor!" The man boasts. ''But it doesn't have to end here. I've seen your talent, and to put it frankly, I'm impressed. If you could surrender and maybe even join our army, I'll spare both of you!"
"No thanks." Ichigo immediately responds with a snarl. "I'd rather die than join your scummy organization. So why don't you piss off."
"Little brat…" The voice growls. "And you, Android #8, just who do you think you are?! Joining forces with a rebel like this and betraying your own creators! Tell me, who was it that brought you back to life when you died once?!"
"Wait… brought back to life?" Ichigo murmurs in confusion. He looks at the Android. "What is he talking about?"
"It… it was you, General White…" Eighter says with an impending frown, bowing his head.
"Good! Then it's still not too late for you! If you want to prove you're still on the Red Ribbon's side, kill that brat and take whatever valuables he may have!" The General orders him.
Ichigo tenses, instinctively reaching for his staff as the Android visibly cringes at such an order. The Android's body starts shaking, clenching his fists as he seems unsure of what to do. Eighter releases a frustrated sigh. "I'm sorry, General White, I owe you a great debt, but I truly cannot bring myself to do bad things." He answers with honesty.
Ichigo feels relieved.
"Then you're nothing more than a lost cause! Fine! I figured this would happen, so you're gonna regret stepping on this level. Let's see how you deal with Buyon!"
Suddenly, a wall in front of them began to slide upwards, opening up, and there were sounds of crunching and chewing. When the wall was halfway open, it revealed a pink, fat blob and around it were surrounded by skulls in the shape of animals. Ichigo frowns upon seeing this, feeling remorse for the animals that have been eaten by this monstrosity. When the wall fully opens itself, Eighter quakes in utter terror as he backs away.
The monster before them throws away several bones, one being the skull of a deer. The boy looks behind to see Eighter backing away as far as possible before he clings against the wall that limits his movements.
"Hey, Buyon, you hear me?!" General White speaks through the intercom. "I got you two new pieces of food for you to eat! Turn around and kill these suckers!"
The monster, known as Buyon, turns around and faces his prey. Now gaining a full view, its face is warped and hideous, with two antennas on its head. It licks its long, green tongue around its lips as it begins to approach the duo.
"Relax, Eighter." Ichigo tries to reassure the robot. "This will only take about a second." The Saiyan boy raises his hand and charges a Ki blast. The monster stops its steps, looking confused as to what Ichigo is doing. "Just watch." Ichigo fires his energy blast at Buyon, only for its massive body to deflect the blast, hurling it against the side of a wall, and blowing it up in the process.
Ichigo stands dumbfounded. "Uh…" The result wasn't what he had expected. He thought he'd end up blowing up the monster, never at all suspecting that it'd end up like this. "Wait, can we do a do-over? That's not what was supposed to happen."
Buyon cackles, mocking Ichigo's efforts as the fat blob walks ever so slowly toward its food. Ichigo furrows his eyebrows. "Alright, how about this!" He cups his hands together, beginning to form an energy ball between his hands. "Kame… hame… ha!" Ichigo fires his most powerful technique at the monster, only for the blue beam to deflect from the monster and crash it against another side of the wall, destroying it without a trace as sudden, harsh, cold wind slips by.
'Oh that's just great…' Ichigo gulps. 'Even my strongest attack got bounced back like it was nothing. I doubt punching this guy would work. How am I supposed to fight—' Ichigo notices something. The monster before him begins to shake uncontrollably, putting its arms around itself as its body begins to freeze, quite literally in fact. "What the hell…?" Ichigo becomes confused.
The body of Buyon was becoming cold enough for it to become frozen solid. Buyon, out of desperation, backs away from the coldness, but it becomes too late as his body is fully caught by the snow, his skin turns blue before his body deteriorates into a statue.
Ichigo couldn't help but sweatdrop. "Is this thing sensitive to cold or something?" He asks more to himself, then looks at Eighter, who is stunned.
"What the… no! How could this… what?!" The General is having a breakdown, as he tries to process how his monster just got beaten.
"Hang on a minute…" Ichigo leaps forward, thrusting his leg as he kicks Buyon's frozen body with all his might, resulting in an instant as it shatters into tiny pieces. "Well that was anticlimactic…" He comments.
"Boy, that was incredible!" Bursting with joy, the Android runs over to Ichigo, hugging him tightly as tightly as a bear. "How did you do that?!"
"No clue." Ichigo shrugs as he tries to escape Eighter's grip. "I was just lucky I guess." Half a minute passes, and Eighter still doesn't let go. "You can put me down now…"
"Oh, right!" As if realizing he made a mistake, Eighter lets go of Ichigo. "Say… I never really got your name. Do you have a name?"
"A bunch of them," Ichigo replies sarcastically. "But for simplicity's sake, you can just call me Ichigo." He looks up. "Anyway, hang on for a minute, I'll get us out of here in no time."
"Huh? But how?"
"Didn't I tell you this before? If you can't find an entrance…" Ichigo proceeds to leap high in the air. "... Then just make one of your own!"
He bursts right through the closed entrance, making a noticeable sized hole, completely freaking out General White. "H-How the hell did you get in here?!"
"Well the entrance was closed, so I figured I'd make one of my own," Ichigo replies with sarcasm. He pulls out his Power Pole and hangs it above the hole he just burst through. "Extend." The Power Pole does so, going right through the hole. "Alright, Eighter, just hold on to this while I pull you up!"
"I… suppose so?" The Android, not being sure of what to say, listens to his young friend and grabs onto the end of the pole.
General White, seeing the opportunity before him, grabs a hold of his pistol and aims it towards Ichigo. Wasting no time to give a warning, the general immediately shoots multiple times against Ichigo, each landing a blow against the boy. But instead of spewing blood and laying dead on the ground, Ichigo stood still as though nothing had happened.
"Hey… you mind quitting?" Ichigo turns to give a cold gaze to the general. "Those things are annoying. Shoot one more time and you'll be the one dropping dead." He gives a warning, releasing his killing intent, and he is dead serious.
'Wh… who or what in the hell is this brat?! Some kind of alien?! He can't possibly be human!' General White thinks, his legs shaking at the fact that his bullets did no damage to a child such as this.
"Alright, there we go…" Ichigo says as he helps the Android pull out of the hole, thankfully it was big enough to fit right through. "Now then… I think you're next." He glances at General White.
'Calm down, White…' The General thinks to himself as he tries to plan his way through this. 'This kid has to be exhausted from all the energy he's spent getting here, this is your chance! It's now or never!' He begins to take off his red scarf and winter coated shirt, leaving him only with a black tank top, revealing his muscular physique. "You speak big words for a little brat, think you can back them up?"
"Did you not see me mop the floor with the rest of your guys?" Ichigo asks with a sweatdrop. "Ah, whatever, I'll just pulverize you all the same."
"Wait, Ichigo, General White!" Eighter puts his hands in front. "Please do not fight! There has to be another way to—"
"Sorry, but I'm not the type to make friends with murderers. I probably might spare his life… if he tells me where he's holding the chief that is." Ichigo replies, preparing himself for a fighting stance.
"Not in your life!" General White strikes first, sprinting towards Ichigo as he throws a punch, only for Ichigo to sigh as he moves his head out of the way. General White throws hooks, and jabs, swinging his fists as fast as he can, but Ichigo sidesteps each blow until the boy counters with a kick to the stomach. "Gugh!" This makes the General gasp for air, as he throws up a bit from the powerful blow he just received.
"Where's the chief?" Ichigo demands. "I'm getting tired of repeating myself."
"Ugh… gahhh…" The General crawls on the ground, as though he could hardly keep himself in shape, getting away from Ichigo.
The Saiyan boy begins to walk towards the general, as he begins to grow annoyed. "Don't make me repeat myself. Whatever pathetic attempt you're trying to make, it won't work on me."
General White managed to get to the front of his control center, and next to him stood a modified gun. 'Yes! The Hyper Gun! With this thing I can kill that kid for sure!' He thinks in eagerness as he goes ahead to grab it, albeit with a struggle. "Ok, kid… you win… I won't fight anymore. I'll surrender the village chief to you."
"Glad you're the smart one of the bunch." Ichigo sarcastically replies with his arms crossed.
Carefully the general put his modified gun in his pocket so that Ichigo wouldn't notice. He gets up, clutching his stomach in pain, wincing as he makes it over to the bookshelf, pressing a secret remote code that opens the bookshelf to reveal an old man who was in the middle of writing.
Noticing the passage opening, the old village chief gets up and turns around to see the prison bars opening up as well. "Hm?!" The village chief turns around. "Wait… what's going—"
"You're free, old man," General White informs him in a harsh tone. "Go ahead, this boy here is your savior. He beat just about everyone to get his way up here!"
"What?!" The chief couldn't believe it. "You're joking…"
"I'm not!" General White rebuts. "Now get out before… I mean... Yeah you're free to leave." He wisely corrects his tone, not wanting to face any further wrath from Ichigo.
"How delightful!" The old village chief exclaims in joy as he begins to walk out of his long prison. "I heard there was a child coming in to rescue me, but I didn't think that it'd actually be—" Before he could finish his sentence, the old man was put in a sleeper choke position as General White wrapped his strong arm around his neck, with his Hyper Gun pointing towards his head. "Wh — What is the meaning of this?!"
"General White, what are you doing?!" Eighter was baffled.
"You bastard…" Ichigo growls as he puts his hand on his Power Pole. He curses himself for trusting it should have been that easy.
"Come on, you didn't really think I'd hand over my main prize after taking a little beating, did you?!" General White laughs mockingly.
"Want me to break your bones next time?" Ichigo challenges him, feeling his blood boiling, demanding for violence. "Because I'm more than ready to—"
"Easy, kiddo! I'd watch what I was saying if I was in your position!" General White replies sharply, locking his bullet to make sure he was serious. "Otherwise I'll blow this man's brain out!"
"General White! Please, stop doing these horrible things!" Eighter pleads.
"Shut up, you moronic failure! I never should have let you live if it was gonna come down to this!" General White yells, making the sensitive Android flinch.
'Great, now what do I do? Every skill in the world isn't gonna save me from this. I gotta be really careful what I do here…' Ichigo calculates what he should do next. He wishes he'd have Kisuke's intelligence, otherwise, they'd have gotten out of this mess.
"Alright, now if you don't want this poor chief to die, you brat, are gonna turn around." General White demands, pointing his gun outward.
"What for?" Ichigo demanded to know, though he had a vague idea of what was about to happen.
"Don't ask questions! Just do as you're told!" General White yells, his vein bulging from his forehead.
Ichigo begrudgingly does so, putting his hands in the air to make sure he isn't doing any "funny business". 'Come on, Ichigo, think, what do you do here?'
Before realizing it, the bullet fires at the back of his skull, the impact strong enough to bring down buildings, and its speed surpassing sound itself. "Gagh!" Ichigo yelps in shock as he falls down to the ground.
Eighter stares in horror and disbelief. His one friend, now possibly dead, all at the hands of the man who gave him his life back. "I-Ichigo!" The Android runs over to his fallen friend, terrified at the possibility that he is dead. "Please, Ichigo! Tell me you're alive!"
There was no response. "Alright, Android #8!" General White starts. "If you really wanna make sure that you're still on our side after all this time, then step out of the way and let me kill this kid for good, or do it yourself! Those are your options!"
At that moment, something within the gentle Android snapped. He begins to feel something he hasn't felt in a long, long time. "No." The Android firmly replies.
"Then you're useless till the bitter end!" General White exclaims before shooting another bullet, this time intended for the Android. The bullet hit its target… but instead, it bounced off him. "What?!"
"You… monster…" Eighter gets up as he clenches his fists, rage beginning to boil in his mechanical body. He walks over to his former savior, each step reigning thunder. "You… are truly monstrous." His pupils are now gone, instead remains a pure white sclera that manifests his rage. "You hurt Ichigo… you killed him! For that… YOU WILL PAY!"
He runs like a bulldozer. General White, completely forgetting his hostage as fear cripples him, now sees death itself in front of his doorsteps. He lets go of the hostage, now aiming the Hyper Gun at the menacing android. "Stay away from me!" He tries to another bullet, only for it to shoot nothing, as it is empty. "Oh no…"
Those are the last words he mutters before he feels a mighty blow hurling him through a window, its force equivalent to a meteor as it sends the General's body at uncontrollable speeds, hurling him past the mountains that were hundreds of miles away, never to be seen again in this world.
"Ichigo!" Eighter runs over to the boy, his attention solely focusing on the spiky-haired boy, who is being checked on by the chief villager. "Are you hurt?! Are you dead?!"
"Mhm…" Ichigo mutters before opening his eyes. "Eighter…?" Suddenly the memories come rushing down at him. "Oh man… what happened? Where's that no good son of a—"
"It's okay, Ichigo, I took care of it. General White will no longer be a bad person." Eighter reassures him with a warm smile.
"Wait… you took care of him?" Ichigo gets up and tries to find General White, only to be seen nowhere. "What did you do…?"
"I… hit him… with everything I had," Eighter says, his tone showing a hint of regret. "Anger took over… when you were shot I thought you were…"
"Nah... I never go down that easily," Ichigo replies. "But… thanks. You actually did a pretty good job."
"I see…" That is all what Eighter says.
Suddenly they hear the sound of footsteps coming by.
"What the hell was that?!"
"It came from the boss' level!"
"Great, reinforcements…" Ichigo groans, unsheathing his Power Pole. "Eighter, you take care of the village chief, I'll handle the rest of the small fries."
Before anybody realizes it, morning already comes by, and in Suno and Orihime's home, they prepare for their breakfast, as the father had come back from his grueling work, so in a way it was sort of a celebration, knowing he came back safe and sound.
"It smells really good…" Orihime comments, being delighted at the food that she was about to eat. Having her hands protected by wearing gloves so she doesn't get burnt, she pulls out the food tray from the oven. However, she then notices her sister standing in front of a window, as if she found something. "What is it, Suno?"
"Look, it's Ichigo! And I think he came back with the chief!" Orihime exclaims.
This in turn makes the family act up, as they go over to clear the glass so they could gain a better view, and indeed they see Ichigo walking towards them, waving his hand, along with the village chief and Eighter.
"I don't believe it… he actually did it…" The mother speaks in disbelief, not believing that this single child was capable of achieving what the rest of grown men and even some women failed miserably to do; rescuing the village chief.
"Well I'll be…" The father comments, being impressed at what he was seeing. "Although… Who is that large man that's standing next to the chief?"
"I'm not sure…" The mother replies.
Ichigo continues to wave his hand with a small smirk on his face. "Sorry it took so long, I had a little more trouble than I thought!" He calls out from afar before he starts running towards them.
Ichigo eats his food with vigor unlike any human on the planet could, eating just about everything that was being dished for him, whilst everyone else is eating at a normal pace.
"You sure eat a lot for a little guy…" The comments, feeling baffled at the amount of dishes that Ichigo was putting at the table.
"The fights left me really hungry, I'm not exactly a fan of eating this much, but I don't have much of a choice." Ichigo casually responds before he goes back to digesting his food.
"I still can't believe you went through all that just to find that one little ball." The mother says as she's cleaning the dirty dishes. "Did you even manage to find it?"
Ichigo eats a piece of stake with his bare hand, chewing on it a few times before digesting it. "I've done crazier things. All I found were Eighter and your chief. I'll go back to finding the ball after I'm finished eating." He tells them.
"My boy, are you sure you don't want anything? The village will be forever grateful for you saving my life." The village chief says with a broad smile.
Usually, Ichigo would be against having rewards given to him on a silver platter, but this was different. He needs tools to survive, tools he's running out of. "A few packs of clothes would be nice, and some money as well." Ichigo answers.
"My boy, you should wish for more! Whatever it is you'll need, the village will gladly fulfill it!" The old man persists.
"Say, Ichigo…" Orihime starts, making the Saiyan boy tense when he faces her direction. "How about you stay home with us? Do you really need to go outside and do whatever it is you're doing?"
Ichigo takes a moment to think. Eighter notices a frown on the boy. "I'm sorry... I wish I could… but I can't. These balls have answers that I need, answers that I want to search for. But at least one of those got answered. And that's seeing you being alive and well." He answers with a smile, but this confuses the others.
"So you're going to leave forever?" Orihime asks with a frown.
"Erm…" Ichigo begins to feel nervous. His heart begins to race. "No... Yes... I…" He didn't know. 'I can't have her get involved in any more danger…'
"Are you alright?" Suno asks in curiosity.
'They all died.' Ichigo thinks in guilt. He thinks back to everyone in his previous life that all died thanks to Yhwach. "I'm not sure if I should…"
"Nonsense, my boy!" The village chief exclaims. "Your presence is more than welcome. I'm sure wherever you're off to, you can come back and visit us, won't you?"
"Oh…" Ichigo perks up. "Sure I guess…" He didn't stop to think.
"And you, my boy." The village chief looks at the Android. "How about you stay with me? Or would you like to stay with Suno and her family?"
"What?!" Eighter is shocked by this. "Me?" He points his own singer at himself, not expecting this whatsoever.
"My wife and I are alone now, so we'd love to have a young fellow such as you, especially when you helped aid this boy to rescue me!" The village chief puts his hand on the Android's shoulder.
"I…" Eighter was at a loss for words. "I'm sorry… but I cannot." He looks down.
"Huh? Why not?" The village chief is confused by his answer.
"I can't do it. It's too risky. None of you know this, but inside me there's a bomb implanted that's set to go off if I don't obey the Red Ribbon's orders. The power of the bomb is strong enough to wipe out an entire city's worth of people." Eighter confesses.
"That's horrible…" The mother clasps her hand on her mouth.
"When's the bomb supposed to set off?" Ichigo asks in a serious tone, putting his hands on the table.
"Someone in the higher ups of the Red Ribbon had it… but I don't know who. It's remote controlled, meaning with just a click of a button, it's set to go boom." Eighter answers.
Before anything else could be said, Ichigo gets off the chair he sat on and runs outside, back to the Muscle Tower.
"I was about to say… you don't have to worry about such a thing! There's a professor in our village who's a mechanical genius, he could help you get rid of the bomb inside you!" The village chief exclaims.
"Really?!" Eighter is shocked to hear this. "Can he really help me?!"
"He's a genius, though he is a bit anti-social from what I remember…" The chief strokes his chin, pondering. "He isn't quite fond of uninvited visitors to his place."
"That's ok! He can let me and Orihime come with him! He lets us play in his place when we have nothing to do!" Suno exclaims.
"Yeah!" Orihime adds.
"Thank you… thank you all so much…" Tears spring from the Android's eyes, brushing them with his forearm. "You're all too kind…"
An entire day passes by in a blink of an eye. As Orihime and Suno have led Eighter to the professor's home, who after seeing the two girls was willing to help to remove the bomb from the Android, to which he was successful in doing so, albeit with great difficulty.
On the other side was Ichigo storming through the Muscle Tower once more in order to find the device, which thankfully he found it from Ninja Murasaki and destroyed it, though he was forced to fight the man yet again when he regained consciousness, only for Ichigo to beat him to a bloody pulp. After that, he successfully managed to drive away the Red Ribbon Army from the village, never to be seen again, and thanks to destroying the device and their tower with a Kamehameha, they had no choice but to flee.
As of now, all the villagers stand by as they watch Ichigo, who now wears one of the purple ninja outfit he "borrowed" from Murasaki, who hid in his stash, as he refused to wear the same clothes for a long period. They came as Ichigo was now standing on his magical carpet, now being filled with a decent amount of supplies to provide him for a while.
"We wish you great luck on your journey, my boy." The village chief tells Ichigo.
"Thanks, you guys take care of yourselves." Ichigo replies.
"Ichigo…" Eighter steps out from the coward as he approaches the reincarnated boy. "Will you come back to visit us?"
"Uh…" Ichigo briefly glances at Orihime before looking back at Eighter. "Well… I'll see when I have free time."
"Oh, that's great!" Eighter exclaims in joy. "We all wish you farewell!"
"See ya guys!" Ichigo says before blasting off in the air with his carpet.
Once he was out of the village's sight, he held his blue scarf as he frowns. 'Orihime is alive… but how can that be? I thought I was the only survivor… if she's here… does that mean everyone else I know are here as well?' He begins to think of his past friends and allies, making a deep scowl as he grits his teeth. 'It's all my fault that I couldn't stop Yhwach from reaching his goal. My fault… all my fault…' He thinks as he wallows in deep guilt and shame.
Whew, took a while but I managed to finish another chapter, now finishing the Muscle Tower segment all in one go, the nonsense that happened that felt dragged out in Manga (especially Anime), especially the Ninja Murasaki section. I also gave a little more insight into Ichigo's psyche on why he acts the way he does sometimes in the story. Since the Dragon Radar isn't broken, he won't head over to Bulma's place to fix it.
I also originally intended for Ichigo to develop a counter against the Hyper Gun that General White had, but I realized that bringing along Eighter would have been moot since I sort of like him, and not doing anything would have felt like a waste. So I'll see you all until next time