That afternoon, school
It was the last few minutes of the lunch period and Ichigo was trying not to stress out. From having lost his mind facing the most evil Hollow the other day and blacking out. To deal with the fact that Da Vinci signed up Mash as a student in his school. The problem wasn't dealing with Mash being his classmate, it was the fact that Keigo wouldn't stop eyeing Mash.
Ichigo can understand it, Mash is cute and her exotic appearance is enough to gain a lot of attention. A girl with bright pink hair and purple eyes is an interesting appearance compared to someone with ginger colored hair like Orihime or Ichigo himself. However, Keigo is like any ordinary teenager and longs for the attention of pretty girls. Which doesn't help because Keigo now knows that he has a relationship with Mash.
"What's your relationship with the new girl?" Keigo asked.
Once again, asking the same annoying question.
"She's my junior at my job. How specific do you want me to be?" Ichigo asked with the twitch of his eyebrow.
"A lot more." Keigo said.
Mizuiro decided to speak up, "Keigo, it's pretty simple by this point. Ichigo has had more work experience at his job than Mash-san." He said, sounding reasonable.
Ichigo was thankful that Mizuiro is the smart one and the voice of reason. He's also lucky that there is a gentle giant in the form of Chad who didn't want to make Mash nervous by hounding her with questions. Although that didn't stop Rukia from giving her curious looks. Which left Mash with having to hide behind Ichigo as cover.
"But how come all the new girls are flocking towards Ichigo?" Keigo asked, sounding whiny.
"Maybe you just scare girls away." Chad said in his monotone voice.
Chad wasn't trying to sound mean and the boys understood that, but it did feel like an insult that Keigo took to heart. This resulted in Keigo letting out a sad sigh as he fell to his back on the floor of the rooftop where they hang out for lunch.
"Did I say something wrong?" Chad asked.
"No, you said the right thing. Keigo just can't handle the truth." Ichigo said.
"It's so unfair." Keigo whined.
Ichigo sighed as he stood up, "I'm heading back to class before the bell rings." He said. "Come on guys." He said as he began to leave.
Only to stop as Keigo grabbed his foot, "Ichigo, tell me your secrets." He said.
Ichigo just frowned, "Step one, stop being desperate and step two, stop putting all the attention on yourself." He said. Ichigo then got to work on prying Keigo's hand off of his leg, "And step three, let go of my leg before Mash gets the buzzsaw." He said.
"You're kidding." Keigo said.
"I'm not." Ichigo replied.
"Um, where's the woodshop classroom?" Mash asked, preparing to look for a real buzzsaw.
After class
Ichigo made his way down the road where his home is with Mash and Rukia by his sides. Ichigo then decided to get some details out of Mash while ignoring the fact that Rukia was here since he believed he could just tune her out.
"So are you heading back or did Da Vinci want me to host you? There's not a whole lot of room thanks to a certain intruder." Ichigo told Mash.
Rukia felt offended, "Hey, are you talking about me?" She asked. "Also is there something going on between you two?" She asked.
"Actually, you would be surprised to know what she said." Mash said before giving a letter to Ichigo.
"So is she a part of your secret life involving the paranormal too or…" Rukia tried to say as Ichigo opened the letter.
"I'm the successor of a Knight from the Round Table." Mash answered happily.
This only confused Rukia and it didn't help that she personally knew nothing of Arthurian Mythology. She might recognize the concept of the Sword of the Stone, but it's doubtful that she would know all of the terms and know more than a couple of famous names besides Arthur's. As Rukia tried to press the question, Ichigo finished reading the letter which was just filled with a couple of scribbles, a drawing of a chibi Mash and chibi Da Vinci along with a short explanation about Mash staying in Ichigo's new property.
"Did they at least move your bags for you or do we need to pick those up first?" Ichigo asked Mash.
"I don't have too many personal belongings but someone should have already moved them." Mash answered.
"Are you two purposely going to ignore me and make me into a third wheel?" Rukia asked.
At the mansion
Upon arrival, they were greeted by Francois who escorted the trio inside and gave them fresh cups of tea with a plate of cookies. After that, Francois presented Mash with her new room which looked nice and traditional but not too decorated. Mash really didn't have too many things outside of clothes and minor accessories like her glasses for she wasn't on missions.
"Despite the lack of personal belongings, I'm sure your stay will be much more comfortable compared to the emptiness of the white rooms they give you." Francois said.
"I forget you know about Chaldea." Ichigo said.
"It is where I originated." Francois said proudly.
Then something clicked in Ichigo's mind, "You're a homunculus, aren't you?" He asked.
"A what?" Rukia asked with wide eyes.
"My species and origin does not dictate the quality of service I grant. No matter how natural they may seem." Francois answered, practically confirming Ichigo's question.
"Okay, I just needed to wrap my mind around everything so I don't confuse myself." Ichigo said.
"Will you be needing any other services for this evening, Ichigo-sama?" Francois asked.
"No thanks, I'm good for now." Ichigo answered.
"Can I have something?" Rukia asked.
"Please give the young lady a box of animal crackers." Ichigo requested
"That's not what I want!" Rukia exclaimed.
Francois bowed, "It will be done at once." they said before leaving the trio alone.
Rukia just stared at Ichigo as if he were the most irritating thing in existence. As she just looked at him with an annoyed expression, Ichigo saw Mash happily exploring her new room. He can only imagine how interesting a mostly normal life in Japan would be like for her.
"You like your new room?" Ichigo asked.
"It's more colorful." Mash answered.
"Yeah well, at least you won't feel like a human lab rat in here." Ichigo said.
"My original room wasn't that bad." Mash said, trying to be grateful for the home she had in Chaldea.
"Sure it wasn't." Ichigo said sarcastically. "Anyways, seeing as we have an extra pair of hands. Rukia here can get you up to speed on the spiritual related stuff." He said.
Rukia looked offended, "Oh, so now I'm a part of the conversation now?" She asked.
"Most of the conversation was filled with inside jokes." Ichigo answered. "You'll have to figure them out as time goes by." He said, making the shinigami sigh.
"Okay, let me get my sketchpad." Rukia said, making Ichigo groan. "Hey, just because you don't like my illustrations. It doesn't mean everyone hates them." She said as she pulled out her sketchpad.
Mash watched as Rukia pulled out the first series of sketches which explained the basics. All ranging from hollows and shinigami to the concept of the afterlife and destruction of hollows. However, while Mash did seem to like the drawings, she immediately got the wrong idea.
"These are adorable, did your younger brother or sister make this?" Mash asked.
Rukia frowned, showing she was offended by the fact that someone else dislikes her artwork. Francois then returned with a box of animal crackers and immediately looked confused by the sketchpad.
"I believe young Mash is too old for children's books." Francois said, making a tick mark appear on Rukia's forehead.
The next day, end of third period
While the day started off normal, Ichigo could already tell that today wasn't going to be anywhere near ordinary. His only proof being that Rukia hasn't arrived at school just yet. This only left Ichigo wondering if trouble was coming or if the shinigami was up to something from the background.
"Hey Ichigo, do you know where Rukia is?" Keigo asked.
"Why are you asking me?" Ichigo asked back.
"Well she likes to hang out with you the most." Keigo answered.
"I'm not her keeper, so I don't keep tabs on her." Ichigo answered bluntly.
As some people expected a bit more from the boy. Rukia suddenly appeared, surprising everyone by how tardy she is today. However, it looked like the short dark haired girl is in a very good mood right now and not at all concerned with her tardiness.
"Sorry I'm late, I was super busy with some super important errands today." Rukia answered.
"So important that they took almost half a day for you to arrive?" Tatsuki asked from within her friend group.
Rukia just laughed it off, "Traffic was bad." She said, making up another excuse. "Anyways, I need to borrow Kurosaki! I'll see you all next period!" She said as she dragged Ichigo away against his will.
"I'm not joining your art club!" Ichigo shouted.
"That's not why I need you! Also, I wouldn't invite you to one anyways!" Rukia yelled back as she dragged him to the roof.
"What do you think that was all about?" Mizuiro asked, making Keigo sigh.
"He's a chick magnet and he's not even trying." Keigo said, sounding envious.
"Hey Mash, you see Ichigo outside of school. What do you think?" Mizuiro asked.
Mash immediately started trying to come up with a list of excuses to make up. Although she could have settled on just denying any knowledge of what Rukia and Ichigo are up to. However the girl's anxiety in such a strange place made her overthink about what she needed to say.
"Um… maybe Rukia needs a tutor." Mash said.
"Ichigo as a tutor?" Keigo asked.
"He seems smart." Chad said, believing the lie.
Outside
After dragging Ichigo outside against his will, Rukia presented Ichigo with some kind of duck shaped toy. While Ichigo can handle the fact that he needs to handle human souls that have become monstrous entities along with whatever other details Rukia may need to bring up. He can only imagine that even if Rukia's update is important, she just had to choose the cutest thing to utilize as a tool.
"What is this? Some kind of pepper spray against spirits?" Ichigo asked.
"Don't be ridiculous, it's a Gikongan. They are artificial souls and they'll be useful whenever a hollow is attacking." Rukia answered.
Then Ichigo pointed at a label on the duck, "Then why does it say Soul Candy on the side?" He asked.
Rukia suddenly looked embarrassed, "Okay so the Shinigami Women's Association decided that "Gikongan" did not sound cute. Personally, I thought that a rabbit design would have been better." She explained.
Ichigo frowned, "Why would you call this thing candy? Do you refer to prescribed medication as snacks and put the meds inside of a chinese takeout box?" He asked.
"I will not answer that last part." Rukia answered.
"So why do I need to carry around an artificial soul?" Ichigo asked.
"It's pretty simple, basically you take an artificial soul like a pill. You will leave your body and it will be managed by an artificial soul to fill in for your civilian life." Rukia explained.
Ichigo groaned, "I swear, calling everything candy and medicine… you people are terrible at managing these things." He said.
"And what would you do?" Rukia asked, sounding defensive.
"Call things by what they are. If this is an important tool, then it shouldn't be treated like a confection." Ichigo said.
"Fine, I'll bring it up at the next meeting but the other ladies won't agree with it." Rukia replied. "Now take the pill and try it out." She said.
Ichigo looked at the duck and used it like a fez dispenser. He then received an orange pill and took it after a moment of hesitance. There, Ichigo was suddenly expelled from his own body and was now wearing his shinigami attire. He looked at his body and watched it rise up on its own.
"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, early to bed and early to rise." the artificial soul said.
"Why does he sound like a tool? No one is going to believe that I developed a bland personality." Ichigo said.
"No one is going to notice." Rukia replied uncaringly before hearing her phone beeping. "Perfect time, there's a hollow attacking nearby. We can let your other self work things out." She said.
"Fine, it better not cause any trouble." Ichigo said.
"I'll be good." the artificial soul before Ichigo and Rukia left.
Not noticing the mischievous smile that it made after the two left him alone.
A while later, back in class
Mash adjusted her glasses as she waited for her senpai and Rukia to return. There was still a couple of minutes until the next class would begin. However, it left her wondering if Rukia had taken Ichigo to go and fight a hollow that suddenly appeared. The pink haired girl's thoughts were interrupted as she heard some noise going on from outside.
"What was that?" A random student asked.
Then suddenly out of nowhere, Ichigo suddenly sprang up to the window of the classroom. This shocked everyone as they were upstairs and there was no way a normal human could reach the window without a really big ladder or some device to lift them up.
"Senpai?" Mash asked as she saw Ichigo jump in.
Ichigo suddenly looked excited as he crawled inside and stared at some of the girls. All the while everyone is wondering how he reached the window despite being so high from the ground. Ichigo decided to answer this as if it were the most easy question in the world.
"It was simple, I just jumped." Ichigo said.
"From that high?"
"Impossible."
"I didn't see anything."
Ichigo just seemingly ignored these comments as he didn't bother to prove himself. Instead, he just focused on all of the women and approached Orihime first.
"Kurosaki-kun, you must have really strong legs if you can jump that high." Orihime said, believing Ichigo's story.
Ichigo just smiled as he grabbed Orihime's hand, "Yeah, I have good legs, but so do you. You also have nice arms and a nice body." He said, making her blush.
Mash started to feel suspicious, 'This is very strange. Since when is senpai so flirty?' She thought.
Ichigo has been surrounded by pretty women before and it only led to trouble. Then again, not all of them were crazy and obsessive. There's also the fact that Chaldea's last master is also lacking in skills with flirting. Even now, this impostor is shamelessly trying to get close to Orihime.
"May I have the name of this beauty?" Ichigo asked.
"You know my name, it's Orihime Inoue." Orihime answered before Ichigo kissed her hand.
The girls shrieked in surprise while the men were either confused or jealous. Either way, seeing as how Orihime never gave any permission. Tatsuki decided to step and try to push Ichigo aside.
"You need to learn some personal space!" Tatsuki said.
"Oh, did you want my affection as well? Don't worry, I'm getting there." Ichigo said before trying to kiss Tatsuki on the cheek.
Then Mash proceeded to grab Ichigo from behind, "Senpai, you need to sit down." She said.
"No thanks, but if you want. I can let you sit on my lap." Ichigo said. "And what would your name be?" He asked as he tried to reach for Mash's cheek.
Mash turned red from embarrassment and panicked. A few minutes later, the entire classroom heard the sounds of popping. Like someone had just opened a box filled with bubble wrap and proceeded to pop them all at once.
When it was over, everyone looked at Mash with wide eyes and then at Ichigo who was on the floor. Ichigo was currently lying on the floor with his foot stuffed in his mouth, his arms twisted like a pretzel and looking like he was filled with excruciating pain. As a practitioner of martial arts, Tatsuki looked impressed despite how silly Ichigo looked.
"Wow, Mash what did you do?" Tatsuki asked.
"Jiu Jitsu, but I went easy on him so he doesn't feel any pain." Mash said before hearing Ichigo let out a pain filled groan.
"I think he's in lots of pain." Tatsuki said.
"Maybe I should have skipped the part where I pop the discs on his back." Mash said, making the men back away in fear from her.
"Can you teach me that?" Tatsuki asked, not noticing Ichigo trying to push himself away with his good leg.
Although unknown to anyone but Mash by this point, Ichigo was really the artificial soul. Ichigo didn't realize it yet and Rukia may have not considered this thought either, but regardless of wherever a soul originated. It is a fragment of someone's consciousness, therefore whatever holds it is sentient and capable of learning. In this case, the mod soul was a deviant and a pervert with the desire to escape now that it's faced by females that are capable of harming him.
With all of its strength, the mod soul managed to drag itself out the window and quickly tried to untangle himself. By the time the class noticed that Ichigo was falling, they saw him land with little injury. Little visual injury, the mod soul felt like every bone in their body had just been snapped in half.
'Okay, I'm… mostly good.' the mod soul thought as it started to run.
"What is going on with Kurosaki?" someone asked.
"I think Kurosaki-kun needs medical help." Orihime said.
"Yeah, in a mental ward." Tatsuki said.
Mash decided to excuse herself, "I'm gonna go to the restroom." she said as she suddenly ran out the door.
"I guess Mash isn't used to display martial arts in public." Tatsuki said, thinking Mash was feeling anxious after the recent ordeal.
"Maybe her stomach is hurting." Orihime said, making Tatsuki sweat drop.
WIth The Real Ichigo
At least when it came to the hollow, Ichigo didn't have to deal with any craziness. No murderous older brothers or sadistic murderers to deal with this time. Just a textbook case of a mindless hollow needing to be purified with an arrow to the head.
"I still can't believe your zanpakuto can turn into a bow." Rukia said.
"Are you really surprised or are you trying to repress the fact that I turned your sword into a swiss army knife?" Ichigo asked.
"You know what I mean." Rukia said. "Don't get too full of yourself. Besides, this just means that you need to get better control of it." she said before watching the zanpakuto turn into a spear.
Ichigo sighed, "Fine, let's just get back to class before my body starts walking straight into a wall or something." she said.
"Ichigo, the mod souls aren't mindless drones. They can figure things out and function on their own." Rukia said, not sounding concerned with the possibility of them being sentient.
Just as the two were making their way back to school. They were surprised to find Mash running into them and looking frantic.
"Senpai! Rukia! There's an impostor at the school!" Mash exclaimed.
Rukia suddenly felt embarrassed, "Oops, forgot that you were on the team. It's not a problem Mash. You see, Ichigo's body contains an artificial soul called a mod soul which may not act like Ichigo but can still behave like a normal person." she explained, not realizing that there's more problems.
"That's not any better, whatever you did to senpai's body is making it behave inappropriately. It started flirting with all of the girls and tried to kiss Inoue-san and Arisawa-san." Mash explained.
Ichigo groaned, "You gave my body away to some pervert?" he asked.
"Hey, it behaved normally like you saw earlier. This isn't on me!" Rukia said.
"Then what did you mean when you called it a mod soul? It sounds like you're definitely hiding something because I thought "soul" was just a dumb nickname for that pill." Ichigo said.
"Pill?" Mash asked.
"She gave me a fez dispenser that said "candy" on it before forcing me to take it." Ichigo told Mash who looked horrified.
Rukia then started swinging at Ichigo, "Stop saying it like that! You're making me sound like some kind of drug dealer!" she shouted. "Look, let me explain the origin of the mod souls. This will help calm you down and better understand the situation." she said, pulling out another series of bad drawings.
"Well the tension won't get any worse with your poor attempt at art." Ichigo said, further annoying Rukia.
Rukia ignored Ichigo and explained herself, "The mod souls were a part of Project Spearhead and were originally made to be put into dead humans. The mod souls also gave the corpses enhanced abilities to make them strong and combat hollows but this project was scrapped." she explained.
"What do you mean scrapped?" Mash asked.
"The fact that corpses of the deceased were being used. The project was shut down and every mod soul was ordered to be destroyed." Rukia said.
"You're telling me that your people created sentient fragments of life, wanted to pillage the dead to ride like a horse and suddenly decided to have morals by ending the lives they created?" Ichigo asked, looking pissed.
This got Rukia thinking, "Okay when you put it like that, it sounds just as bad but to be fair. I wasn't even aware that there were a few mod souls left." she said, still not grasping the main issue.
"Rukia, those are living things. All I've learned is that the shinigami have decided upon themselves that they have the right to create and manipulate life. Like some sort of twisted gods, they decided to get rid of their own creation because they felt it unnecessary." Ichigo said, sounding slightly more aggressive with every sentence.
"Senpai, please calm down." Mash said as she can see some strange energy flickering within Ichigo.
Rukia started to feel nervous as well, she didn't realize that she's struck a nerve. It's not like she was the one who made mod souls and decided they should be destroyed. Sure it sounds bad, but it's nothing she can suddenly resolve. But now Ichigo is pointing out some strong statements that actually make sense.
After many months within other timelines filled with history's greatest figures and mythology's most exotic tales. Ichigo's travels across the various singularities wasn't just an adventure filled with fighting monsters. They were journeys filled with great lessons and an opportunity very few had the chance to participate in and yet he was the only one to go through it all. The concept of life, death, purpose, happiness and despair are all there and even with the death of his own mother still affecting him.
Ichigo valued all lives and it was a big reason why he hated people who disrespected the dead. Like a group of thugs he witnessed that damaged a small memorial shrine to a little girl who died a few weeks ago.
"I'm fine Mash, I just… look lets find the mod soul. The last thing we need is for them to get into more trouble." Ichigo said, trying to calm down.
Before anyone else said anything, Ichigo ran off into the streets to look for the mod soul. Only to stop when Rukia started to receive a message that another hollow was attacking nearby.
A few minutes later
The trio arrived and found the hollow attacking near some middle school. Luckily, it appeared that the mod soul was also there and also attacking the hollow but with little success. Despite having an enhanced physique like Rukia already mentioned, the centipede shaped hollow didn't look too damaged as the mod soul tried kicking it away.
"At least they have a sense of justice." Mash said.
"I'll get it!" Ichigo said as he ran to help the mod soul.
"Mash, by any chance do you have any tools or have any abilities like Ichigo?" Rukia aksed, having yet learned about Mash's abilities.
Mash quickly removed a container from her bag and opened it. A second later, Rukia was presented with a massive shield that Mash could hold with minimum difficulty.
"What exactly is a shield going to do in a fight?" Rukia asked.
"Rukia-san, I already told you. I've inherited my power from a Knight of the Round Table." Mash said with a smile before dashing at the hollow with amazing speeds.
Rukia sweat dropped, "Wait, you have enhanced speed and strength too?" She asked.
Rukia felt envious, while she still has access to her Shinigami powers. Those along with her physical form are very weak due to her limitations since losing her powers. So now she could see that Mash has physical abilities that are much greater than an athletic human. Which is funny because Mash could barely do a single pull up before she became a demi-servant.
At the fight
The mod soul had already taken a lot of damage in Ichigo's body which included a big wounds on Ichigo's shoulder. What made this worse is the fact that the worm shaped Hollow was pretty weak on it's own and wasn't intelligent or skilled like the murderer that used Yuichi as bait.
Now the mod soul found itself having difficulty avoiding a tentacle strike aimed for the chest. Luckily, Ichigo arrived just in time to slice off a tentacle. The Hollow reeled back in pain as Ichigo thrust his spear shaped Zanpakuto at great speeds. The Hollow cried out in pain and was stunned long enough for Ichigo to drag the mod soul away.
"Just what exactly are you doing? You were supposed to stay behind at school!" Ichigo exclaimed.
The mod soul looked angry, "Who are you to decide how I want to live my life?" He asked.
"It's my life you're using, idiot!" Ichigo yelled.
While Ichigo really hated the fact that the shinigami did all sorts of crazy things in an attempt to fight the Hollows at the cost of messing with life itself. However, he also had to remember that with life, there comes sentience then logic and finally individualism. Putting aside what Rukia said about mod souls and their purpose, Ichigo had to remember that this mod soul has no concept of personal space.
"Well… maybe I just want to take control of my own life. Who has the right to decide when I should live and die?" the mod soul asked.
Before the banter could continue, the Hollow tried to attack them while their guards were down. Luckily Mash came just in time and slammed the edge of her shield on top of the Hollow's head. The Hollow crashed onto the ground, making it vulnerable to attacks.
"Look, just stand back while we finish this." Ichigo said as he twirls his Zanpakuto.
Mash quickly slammed her shield onto the Hollow's head again to keep it stunned. Allowing Ichigo to thrust his Zanpakuto into the Hollow's mask again, making it crack. However, the Hollow cried out in pain again as it thrusted its body around, shaking Mash off of it and slamming Ichigo away. The mod soul then ran after the Hollow as it attempted to run away again.
The mod soul didn't do much other than kick it hard enough to make it recoil. That didn't stop the Hollow from slashing at the mod soul again with its tentacles again. Mash quickly ran in front of the mod soul and blocked the attack with ease. Mash stood her ground as the Hollow violently attacked her, focusing on her rather than Ichigo who stabbed his Zanpakuto into the Hollow's mask before lifting it into the air and tossing it.
The Hollow began to be purified as its mask completely shattered. However, the mod soul didn't seem to understand this yet and chose to jump high into the air and kick it again. Which did nothing except put it into a tight situation where it wouldn't land on the ground without harm.
'I didn't think this through!' The mod soul thought.
As it plummeted, Mash jumped high into the air and grabbed the mod soul. Mash then used her shield to cushion the fall and prevent further injury. For some reason, the mod soul discarded the fact that Mash had put him into a harmful knot and saw her as an angel or a goddess in human flesh. Perhaps this was because the mod soul is a pervert and was grateful for Mash saving him.
"Kami-sama." The mod soul said as he latched himself onto Mash.
"AHH! Senpai!" Mash cried out as her face turned red.
"Let go of the eggplant!" Ichigo yelled as he pulled the mod soul off of Mash.
"Hey, don't interrupt my moment!" The mod soul complained.
The mod soul struggled to pry Ichigo's hands off before being tossed onto the ground. The mod soul groaned before finding himself face to face with Ichigo who looked annoyed.
"Look, I understand that you think life is unfair. Really, I know you were dealt a bad hand." Ichigo said before thinking. "Actually, you weren't even dealt a hand. They just said you lose right away." He said.
"Senpai, we should skip the gambling analogies." Mash said just as Rukia arrived.
"Look, the point is that you want to live and you are perfectly right to assume that. I've met a lot of good people who've been killed because of the actions of others, sometimes they were indirect." Ichigo explained, reminding Mash of their previous journeys. "Only it doesn't make it right by letting you do things as you wish." He said.
"I'm not a little kid. I value life too, you think I don't know about my brethren being killed? I was just an orb, but I was conscious when I saw everyone slowly disappear." The mod soul said before looking over the distance and saw some kids. Kids that went into hiding once the Hollow had attacked, "So while I like the fact that you respect my need to survive, you can't lecture me on how I wanna live." He said.
"Yes I can because that's my body! I'm probably gonna get arrested for sexual assault and it's worse because you got my body injured!" Ichigo said, losing all sentimentality. "What kind of mod soul are you? You're supposed to be super strong and you got your ass kicked by some weak tier Hollow! A freaking skeleton with a knife could beat you!" He said.
Now the Hollow looked flushed, "Okay um, maybe a bad start. To be fair, it's really my first day in a body. I had to get well acquainted, especially behind your pink haired goddess in human flesh." He said while leering at Mash who hid behind Ichigo.
"Senpai, what do we do with him?" Mash asked.
"I'll take it from here, young lady." Said a man in a bucket hat and wooden sandals.
The strange man came walking towards the group with two children and a muscular man with glasses. Before anyone said anything, the man jabbed his cane into Ichigo's forehead. The body went limp after literally coughing up the pill that contained the mod soul. That's when he picked up the mod soul and prepared to pocket it.
"I apologize for the unfortunate accidents involving my product." He said, surprising Ichigo with the fact that he can see him in spirit form. "I'll be sure to refund your money, Kuchiki-san." He said.
"Aw man, we didn't even get to fight anything." Said a boy that was with the man.
Before they left, Rukia suddenly grabbed the man's arm, "Hold it right there, Urahara-san." She said. "I'll be taking that mod soul right back." She said.
"I'm afraid you've confused me. You do realize that this is a defective product, right Kuchiki-san?" Urahara asked as his eyes were overshadowed by his hat.
"I know that and yet I have still purchased it." Rukia said as she swiped away the mod soul pill.
"I can give you a full refund. There's really nothing to concern yourself with about it now." Urahara said, hoping to take back the mod soul and discard it for good.
"I do not wish for a refund. In fact, I am very satisfied with my purchase." Rukia said, sounding very confident. "Besides, you should not concern yourself with forbidden items because you work outside of the Soul Society." She said.
Urahara did not look pleased, "If that's what you want, I can't stop you. But don't blame me if anything else goes wrong." He said.
"And no refunds afterwards!" Said the red haired boy.
"But Kuchiki-san just said she didn't want a refund." Said the girl next to him.
The boy glared at the girl and looked prepared to bully her. Until the muscular man held him in place and started applying pressure on her.
"Jinta, stop misbehaving in front of the customers!" He said as Jinta cried out in pain.
"Anyways, I'll be seeing you and your friends later." Urarahara told Rukia before leaving.
Ichigo found the man in the bucket hat to be strange, "Who was that guy?" He asked.
"Just a store owner." Rukia said.
"A store owner that can see ghosts?" Ichigo asked.
Rukia frowned, "I'll explain later, now just go back to your body." She said.
Ichigo looked down at his unconscious body, "I'm going to need a hospital." He said.
At the mansion
Ichigo grunted as Francois quickly went to work on fixing his shoulder and did so with great precision and efficiency. The butler ignored Ichigo's cries of pain as he managed to somehow disinfect, sew and bandage up the wound in a couple of minutes. Something that not many trained medics could do as they would have to take their time to avoid making any mistakes.
"And you are clear, Ichigo-dono. Now then, just return in about three days and we will have those stitches removed and your shoulder will be fine." Francois said.
"I wish Nightingale were here." Ichigo said. "Still, I'm surprised you're this good." He told the butler.
"I am made to be the best." Francois said as they presented Ichigo with new clothes. "Now then, you may wish to get dressed." They said.
Ichigo nodded as he accepted the clothes. Once Francois left, Mash approached Ichigo with the mod soul and an old stuffed lion in her hand.
"How are you feeling senpai?" Mash asked.
"Like arm was just stapled on, but I'll live." Ichigo answered.
"I'm glad to hear that. Now, why did you want me to pick up this stuffed toy?" Mash asked.
On the way back to the mansion where Ichigo correctly assumed he would receive medical help. Ichigo was talking to Rukia about what to do with the mod soul when he noticed a stuffed lion lying on some trash bags by a construction site. He told Mash to take it as he considered stuffing the mod soul inside of it for safekeeping. Then again, he wasn't really sure if mod souls would function in non-sentients but then again Rukia is a spirit inside of an artificial body so it sounded reasonable.
"Yeah, I want you to put the mod soul inside of it. If he doesn't come to life, at least we have a storage spot." Ichigo said.
Mash looked hesitant for a moment, "Okay, I'll trust you." She said as she stuffed the mod soul inside of the lion.
Then it immediately came to life, "ARGH! Where am I!?" The mod soul asked.
"He came to life." Ichigo said.
"Came to life!? You put me inside of a stuffed toy!" the mod soul screamed. "The only good thing is that I'm in my dear kami-sama's arms." He said as he cuddled up to Mash.
"Senpai, if you don't mind me asking. Where are we going to keep him?" Mash asked.
The mod soul gasped, "Do you not want to be with me?" He asked, sounding sad.
"Leave her alone, Kon. I don't want you harassing Mash or any other girl for that matter." Ichigo said.
"Eh? Kon? Who's Kon?" The mod soul asked.
"You are Kon, that's your name from now on." Ichigo said.
"Kon" now looked offended, "That's a stupid name, give me something cool. Like Kai, Kai is a cool name." He said.
"Kai is a cool name, but you're not cool so your name is not Kai." Ichigo said, making Kon feel angry.
Kon then lunged himself at Ichigo's face, "I'll show you!" He yelled as he kicked Ichigo.
Only to fall back onto the ground as his vessel was too weak to harm anyone. Kon quickly jumped up to his feet and began to punch and kick Ichigo's foot with techniques that looked like something out of an amateur martial arts movie. As this went on, Miya arrived to check on the boy.
"Ichigo, how are you feeling?" Miya asked.
"Annoyed." Ichigo said before pointing at Kon.
Miya sweat dropped as she watched the stuffed lion still trying to fight. That ended once Ichigo gently kicked Kon back to the floor. Kon let out a tired cry as he closed his eyes.
"Okay, I admit you're tougher than you look. So we'll call it a draw." Kon said before opening his eyes. Which immediately darted towards Miya, "And who is this fine woman?" He asked, already falling in love with the next pretty face he sees.
Kon quickly recovers and proceeds to dust himself off and slicked his non-existent hair back. Miya could already tell that Kon was trouble and just waited for an excuse to get rid of the mod soul. Kon didn't need to work too hard to give her a reason.
"Hi there… UGH!" Kon said before Miya stabbed him with a wooden sword.
The woman's patience seems to have reached its limit the moment Kon opened his mouth. As she suddenly conjured up a wooden sword out of nowhere to attack the stuffed animal. Miya then gave a scary smile to Ichigo.
"Ichigo, please note whether or not you take residence in the mansion. I will not allow any stuffed animals as tenants, visitors or solicitors." Miya said before a hanya mask appeared beside her head. "Please take my warning seriously. I do not like repeating myself." She said, sounding sweet.
"How can a beautiful lady house so much evil in her?" Kon asked.
"I especially dislike rude guests." Miya said before flicking her sword towards the window.
Kon screamed in terror as he flew out the window and hit a tree. As the room they were in was on the second floor, Kon had a long trip before finally hitting the ground. Ichigo just sighed and stretched his body before preparing to leave.
"Well thanks for the help. I should get going before my dad decides to kick me or something." Ichigo said as Miya nodded.
"Take care, also you should put that Rukia girl on a healthy diet. She's only been eating animal crackers." Miya said, unaware that Rukia hasn't been asking for animal crackers.
"I know, but shinigami don't grow after a certain time or something. So Rukia will stay short forever, unfortunately." Ichigo said, pretending to care.
Then Kon climbed back up the window, "Hey, what kind of host throws out their guests?" He asked.
Miya suddenly threw a book at Kon's head, "The kind that does not tolerate perverted lions." She answered as everyone heard Kon screaming before hitting the ground again.
"Good night Mash." Ichigo said.
"Good night Senpai." Mash replied.
The next day
As it was his day off, Ichigo had no school today and neither did his sisters. Isshin also closed the clinic for the day as they had planned a trip to visit Ichigo's late mother as they do every year. Of course, this was seen as family time and thus Ichigo did not want Rukia to follow him and he certainly was not inviting any perverted lions.
Ichigo also asked Da Vinci and the staff at Chaldea to postpone any testing on his body in advance. Mash would also likely be staying at the mansion with Miya or likely visit Chaldea so she could play with Fou as to respect Ichigo's space. It's too bad that Rukia did not have as much respect as Mash did for Ichigo.
"Hey Ichigo, isn't that your classmate or something?" Karin asked as she pointed at Rukia who was waving at them from a distance.
"What do you know? It is. What a coincidence, I'll see what she wants." Ichigo said before rushing to drag Rukia away and not ruin today.
"Hurry up Ichigo! We gotta be there, early!" Isshin yelled as he started running up the road with his hands.
"It's not a race!" Yuzu told her father. "Also, where is Ichigo going? I know that's his friend and all, but is now a good time to catch up?" She asked with concern in her voice.
"Ichigo will come back soon, don't worry about it." Karin said.
"But…"
"Let's go." Karin said much to Yuzu's concern.
In the woods
Seeing as Ichigo felt like Rukia was ignoring what today was. He immediately started pulling out a roll of duct tape and shoved Rukia against a tree. Now all he did was wait for Rukia to give him a reason to leave her tied to the tree.
"What do you think you are doing?" Ichigo asked.
"I am reminding you that you have duties as a substitute shinigami. Before you say anything, I can respect that you are visiting a deceased loved one. There's nothing wrong with that." Rukia explained, trying to be professional and empathetic. "However, in the event that a Hollow appears. I need to be around so that you can combat it." She said, getting straight to business.
"Then at least try to be discreet." Ichigo said.
"I don't think that's necessary." Rukia said.
"Oh so you're more than happy letting the world know our whole business?" Ichigo asked.
"That's a different thing altogether!" Rukia argued. "Besides, there's something else I wanted to talk to you about." She said.
Ichigo sighed, "I keep extra duct tape around in case of a flat tire or a leaky pipe." He said as he pointed at the roll of duct tape.
Rukia sweat dropped, "No, that's not it but… I guess that satisfied another piece of curiosity." She said. "Seriously, my question is about your abilities to see spirits. You said you've done it for as long as you can remember." She said.
"Yeah, that's been going on since I was a little kid. Maybe around the time Yuzu and Karin were born." Ichigo said, confirming that fact.
"I was wondering that maybe it was a Hollow that killed your mother." Ichigo said.
This just angered Ichigo, "It wasn't a Hollow, I think I would remember a literal walking nightmare attacking my own mom." He said, pointing out the logic.
"Yes but some Hollows have learned to be more cunning and think over their plans." Rukia said. "Besides, your spiritual powers are very strong so your mother could have just been caught in the crossfire when you were the target." She said.
"So what? Hollows like to create every small problem for me?" Ichigo asked, still seeing issues in Rukia's wild theory. "Besides, her death is my fault anyways." He said.
Ichigo then walked off, no longer being in the mood to listen to Rukia's absurd theories. Even if that was a good basis, there's still some holes like the Hollow not attacking Ichigo after his mother died. Regardless, Rukia was stunned into silence and wondering if Ichigo was too traumatized to think about his mother's death. A relative dying isn't something people just ignore, moving on is one thing, but it's nothing to joke about.
Whatever the details are, Rukia has a bad feeling that she messed up. The 150 year old girl was a shinigami for many years and takes her job seriously. Maybe she let her anxieties get the better of her and create some convoluted theory that she believed too much in.
"Rukia, please open this bag. It's a million degrees here and I'm dying!" Kon complained as he was in Rukia's backpack.
A while later
Ichigo was in deep thought and he wasn't happy about it. While it was the anniversary of his mother's death and a time of rememberance. Yet it only made him depressed as he can remember the details of his mother's death. It was fuzzy but he remembered a lot of details from his point of view. Although Rukia did have the right idea that Ichigo's memories could be distorted as time passed and Ichigo was just a child with a different point of view.
All he could think about was recklessing chasing after this one girl by the river. She was calling out for help and was close to falling in. As a naive child, Ichigo tried to save her despite his mother calling out to her. At the time, Ichigo didn't know the difference between humans and spirits as he now thinks that girl could have just been some unfortunate soul that hasn't moved on.
Ichigo remembers the tragedy came when he heard a loud train roar or something equivalent. Ichigo desperately tried saving the girl before his mother collapsed on top of him. It was that day that Ichigo decided that he hated the rain and remembered that his name meant Guardian or Protector. Which is something he tried to live by as the years came and he grew older.
As Ichigo made his way towards the direction of the cemetery, he heard Kon screaming out to him. The mod soul was actually here and now Ichigo was annoyed.
'Damn it, I'm taping Rukia to the tree. Kon too.' Ichigo thought as Kon latched onto him.
"Ichigo! Rukia is in trouble!" Kon yelled.
"Did she get a flat tire on the way home?" Ichigo asked.
"No and I don't think any amount of duct tape is gonna help us. There's this guy dressed up like a shinigami, his name is Saido and he's chasing after Rukia." Kon explained.
"Well what does he want?" Ichigo asked.
"I don't know! I came to get you so you can help!" Kon exclaimed. "Now go help Rukia, it's an emergency!" He yelled.
"Fine!" Ichigo replied as ran to look for Rukia.
As Ichigo arrived, he saw Saido drawing his zanpakuto and swinging at Rukia. This went on for a while as he overheard the conversation. Which was mostly Rukia trying to dodge Saido's questions asking why Rukia isn't wearing her shinigami garb among other things that look suspicious.
That's when Saido noticed Ichigo's arrival and that the boy quickly came to Rukia's defense.
"A human? What is he doing here? Better yet, who is this guy?" Saido asked, knowing it's extremely rare for a human to see spirits.
"Ichigo, don't tell him anything." Rukia said.
"I'm Rukia's substitute shinigami." Ichigo said.
Saido suddenly began laughing, "You're in trouble now. You broke some big rules." He told Rukia before rushing towards Ichigo.
Ichigo avoided the swift sword strikes with moderate difficulty. As Saido tried to kill Ichigo, the orange haired boy pulled out a five yen coin tied to a string. Saido swiped at Ichigo once more before Ichigo rolled behind him and started swinging the coin in front of him.
"Are you trying to use hypnosis on me? What are you? Some kind of magician?" Saido asked, mocking Ichigo's strange technique.
Saido only humored Ichigo for a few seconds before thrusting his sword at the boy. Instead of stabbing Ichigo, Saido suddenly felt like gravity had betrayed him. That the wind suddenly became powerful and sent him flying into the air. In mere moments, Saido was no longer bound to the earth and reached for the heavens. Then he pierced through the layers of the atmosphere like a rocket before entering outer space.
Saido was becoming terrified and found it impossible to breathe. It only became worse as Saido realized that he was flying past the moon, then past Mars and Jupiter and so on until the entire Solar System became the size of a grape from his point of view.
'What is this technique!? Did Rukia find a human so powerful that they can banish me from the planet!?' Saido thought frantically.
Then he suddenly felt extreme pain in his jaw.
With Ichigo and Rukia
In actuality, Saido was still on Earth and is in perfectly fine health. He just stood in place, staring at Ichigo with dilated eyes as if he were in a trance. Rukia even looked impressed by the fact that Ichigo defeated him with hypnosis.
Ichigo looked at Saido with wide eyes, "Did that seriously work?" He asked.
"Eh!?" Rukia asked.
"That was just a distraction, I don't know any hypnosis." Ichigo said, making Rukia face fault. "So, should we beat him up or something?" He asked.
"No! Look, let me try talking to him." Rukia said.
"I don't think your coworker was exactly professional. Then again, I think a hostile work environment isn't anything new." Ichigo said, making Rukia frown.
However, Rukia soon realized that Saido was too deep in his trance to hear or see anything. It took Rukia five minutes of pointlessly trying to snap Saido out of it.
"Look, you broke him! Now things are going to be worse!" Rukia said before hearing her phone beeping. "And now there's a Hollow on the loose!" She exclaimed.
"Hey Ichigo, you got any other useless junk to snap him out of his dream?" Kon asked.
Ichigo quickly shoved his hand into Kon's mouth, much to the mod soul's discomfort. Ichigo then pulled out the pill that held Kon and swallowed it. Once in Shinigami form, Ichigo prepared the best way to bring Saido back to reality.
By punching him across the jaw with a lot of force.
"I told you not to hit him!" Rukia yelled.
"And I told you that you're a bad artist, but that's not stopping you from drawing." Ichigo replied much to Rukia's annoyance.
Saido suddenly gasped loudly, "What was that!?" He asked.
"Your one job is to defend the world of the living from monsters and you were defeated by a simple coin? I literally found it on the ground right next to a vending machine." Ichigo said, pointing out how useless the coin is.
It's so useless, the original owner thought using the coin enough times would get them a free drink. Then realizing that trying to slide and take out a five yen coin for a 300 yen beverage is too tedious work. Even right now, Ichigo forgot he still had the coin and just found it in his pants today.
"What kind of human are you?" Saido asked.
"The kind that has a job to do." Ichigo said before pointing at Rukia's phone.
Rukai shared the information that she received on the Hollow. Only it looks like it isn't a typical hollow as this one has a very high amount of Reiryoku.
"Yeah, that's a nasty one. Fine, we'll call a truce for now and deal with the hollow. So long as the kid promises not to use the magic coin again." Saido said.
"It's just a coin, the kanji was even printed poorly." Ichigo said as he presented the coin.
"Can we talk about the fact that Ichigo just shoved his hand down my throat?" Kon asked, now inside of Ichigo's body.
"Stop crying Kon." Rukia said, making the mod soul feel depressed. "We have a strong Hollow to deal with." She said.
Elsewhere
Regardless of strength, all Hollows are a danger to ordinary humans even those capable of seeing them. Like her older brother, Karin could see and hear spirits but lacked any special abilities. It's not like the Kurosaki are a magus family, making Karin and her twin incapable of dealing with the present Hollow.
"Stay back! I don't know where you are but stay back!" Yuzu said as she could feel the intensity of the Hollow despite not seeing it.
"Yuzu, run away and find dad!" Karin cried out as the Hollow lifted her into the air.
"I only need one of you to work as bait." The Hollow said as it tried to devour Karin.
However, it was interrupted by Ichigo suddenly appearing and firing arrows at it. With one of them piercing and severing a tentacle that it used to grab Karin. The Hollow howled in pain as it stumbled back, feeling furious that someone interrupted it.
"A shinigami?" the Hollow asked as it saw Ichigo catch Karin in his arms.
Ichigo quickly ran to pick up Yuzu, who was still paralyzed with fear, and away from the tombstones. Just as the Hollow was about to attack the Kurosaki siblings. It immediately dodged a sudden attack from Saido who attempted to ambush it. Saido glared at the Hollow as he took another stance.
"Bastard, using humans as bait and hostages." Saido cursed.
The Hollow laughed, "Two shinigami, much more interesting. However, I can't help but feel some sense of familiarity towards the orange haired one." It said.
Then suddenly, a little girl with dark hair and a white dress appeared beside the Hollow. However, this was not a hostage as the trio of shinigami noticed an antenna attached to the head of the little girl. It was connected to the Hollow in a fashion similar to an anglerfish who carries a light attached to its head.
"That's the girl from the riverbed six years ago." Ichigo suddenly said as Rukia had arrived.
"Now I remember, you are the boy that was with that woman. You fell for my trap, but your mother used herself as a shield." The Hollow said.
Ichigo glared at it, "So it was you! Rukia was right!" He angrily yelled.
"My theory was spot on, but the real surprise is that I know this Hollow." Rukia said, surprising Ichigo. "They call him Grand Fisher, he lures individuals with high Reiryoku and devours them to increase his power. He's evaded shinigami for fifty years with his tactics." Rukia said.
"Then you were right, Rukia but this legend ends today." Ichigo said, angry that he was the target the whole time as Rukia believed.
Saido gritted his teeth, "I haven't seen such a disgusting Hollow in a long time." He said.
"Please keep the compliments to yourself, you're making me blush." Grand Fisher said, mocking everyone.
Suddenly, Grand Fisher started dodging as Ichigo shot several arrows at him. The Hollow moved with minimal difficulty before removing the human it used as a lure. As Grand Fisher prepared to attack, Rukia raised her palm at it.
"Bakudo #9: Geki!" Rukia yelled, paralyzing the Hollow.
As it was immobilized, Ichigo's zanpakuto changed into a pair of large sickles with chains attached to their handles. Without registering the change, Ichigo instinctively tossed the sickles into Grand Fisher's body and grabbed a good hold of it before trying to pull him closer towards him.
Grand Fisher had managed to break free of Rukia's spell just as he was pulled close enough for Ichigo to almost cut up. Grand Fisher countered by extending the fur-like material on his body to impale Ichigo. Ichigo retracted his sickle and parried the blow before trying to throw his chain around the Hollow's head. Grand Fisher struggled and tried to break out of the chain's hold and decided to play dirty again.
Grand Fisher noticed Karin and Yuzu's unconscious bodies by the headstones. Grand Fisher tried to extend its arm towards them but ended up getting it severed by Saido. The Hollow seethed in pain and cursed at the second shinigami's interference as he could feel Ichigo pulling him closer with his chain.
"Rukia, grab my sisters and go! They're too vulnerable here!" Ichigo said.
Before Rukia could react, Kon suddenly came running and avoided some tentacle swings from Grand Fisher. Kon quickly ran up to the sisters and lifted them over his shoulders.
"Don't worry Ichigo, because I'm the hero now!" Kon said before avoiding another tentacle. "And now the hero has to make a tactical retreat!" He said as he ran away.
"Well I guess that solves that." Rukia said before hearing Ichigo's chain break.
Grand Fisher broke free and attempted to impale everyone with the spikes coming from its fur. Ichigo quickly sliced through each spike before Grand Fisher tried to bite down on the upper half of his body. However, it was stopped as Saido landed on it's back and stabbed it on the top of the head.
"You keep forgetting about me. I'm starting to feel neglected." Saido said, mocking Grand Fisher.
"That is because I don't concern myself with annoyances!" Grand Fisher said before stabbing Saido with several spikes from its back.
Saido coughed up blood as he felt the fur piercing his gut. Grand Fisher pulled its spikes back into its body and allowed Saido to collapse onto its back. Ichigo's eyes widened as he saw the blood and injuries as Saido fell.
"Is he dead? He can't be dead, he's a shinigami!" Ichigo said.
"Ichigo, even shinigami can die. They aren't immortal, so the concept of death is different for us in the afterlife." Rukia said.
"How does that make any sense?" Ichigo asked before avoiding a fur spike. "Damn it! I've already had enough of your sadistic personality!" He yelled as he jumped towards Grand Fisher's face.
Grand Fisher tried to bite down on Ichigo as well as impale him with its fur. Only to fail as Ichigo avoided the attacks and dug one of his sickles into the mask. Grand Fisher cried out in pain as he tried to shake off the sickle and avoid its own version of death.
By now, Ichigo could see the danger in the strength and ingenuity of Grand Fisher. However, he also noticed that its reliance on dirty tricks and attempts at manipulating someone's emotions are its true strength. By this point, it was easy to understand that someone's power and physical strength isn't necessarily required to be a danger.
With that said, Grand Fisher was desperate to survive and needed to use its specialty in order to survive.
As Ichigo hung onto Grand Fisher's face and continued to repeatedly dig his sickle into the Hollow's mask, and hopefully send it to hell. Ichigo saw Grand Fisher extending the human lure that it uses as a trap. Ichigo assumed that Grand Fisher was trying to scare Ichigo into backing up by making the teen think that he was going to kill an innocent girl.
Instead, he saw a different yet familiar face replace the girl in the dress.
"Mom?" Ichigo asked, holding back on stabbing Grand Fisher again.
"Ichigo, you wouldn't raise a weapon at your own mother would you?" Asked the Lure, sounding just like Misaki.
Rukia ran towards Ichigo to help him, "Ichigo, she's not real!" She said.
"Stand back Rukia!" Ichigo yelled. "Don't interfere! This is between me and him!" He added.
Rukia was shocked, was Ichigo really falling for the trap? Did he just not like the idea of killing his mother, even if it was just the imagery of his mother? Ichigo loves and misses her, but Rukia was wondering if Ichigo really is this desperate. It only annoyed her, but not because she thought Ichigo was refusing to let her assist him. She was angry because Hollows like Grand Fisher existed and she thought back to Shuichi and he was manipulated into being a trap.
That's when Rukia had quickly remembered an important detail regarding Ichigo's own anger. Even as a teenager, it's natural for him to be annoyed and lose composure. However, that was the dark part of the strange anomaly within the substitute shinigami.
"Even the most cold shinigami still has a single person they cannot kill. Your clouded heart distracts you and this is how I've evaded many shinigami for half a century." Grand Fisher said as "Misaki" continued to talk to Ichigo.
In that moment, Grand Fisher's greatest strength became the reason for his demise. Ichigo's zanpakuto changed form once more and appeared as a gothic scythe. Without even noticing Ichigo's expression, Grand Fisher reeled in pain as it felt its lure being severed. Then he felt the scythe digging into the side of its face.
"Are you that heartless to cut down your own mother!?" Grand Fisher screamed in shock.
Ichigo's own face was clouded by dark energy as his eyes changed to a gold color, "You have some nerve to judge someone else when you instigate their actions!" He roared as he sliced off one of Grand Fisher's arms. "Especially using my own mother's face and using it as a way to hurt me and all the others in your sadistic game!" He angrily added as he swung his scythe.
Grand Fisher snarled as it dodged the next strikes before extending its spikes at him. Even in his furious state, Ichigo cut through each spike like an experienced lumberjack does with wood in a thick forest. Grand Fisher became desperate and angry at how quick Ichigo was to move past his tricks and began to heavily injure him.
By this point, Grand Fisher just wanted to retreat and wait until Ichigo would lose track of him. Luck was on the sadist's side as Ichigo felt his entire body cramp up, as if the fluctuation of reiryoku and circuits started to exhaust various parts of his body. At the last moment, Ichigo felt his body stiffen and started to lose consciousness as he launched another heavy swing at Grand Fisher.
"Now's my chance!" Grand Fisher yelled as he tried to stab Ichigo with his talons.
At the last moment, Saido appeared and parried the blow. He quickly tried to finish off Grand Fisher, but the Hollow quickly jumped back into the river. Swimming as deep as possible and avoiding the senses of the present shinigami. At the same time, feeling angry and spiteful towards all three of them and ending 50 years of his terror.
"Damn, almost had him. It's too bad the kid ran out of energy." Saido said as he picked up his straw hat.
"I think Ichigo just lost control." Rukia said. "Also, were you really hurt or did you fall asleep? I swear I heard you snore." She said.
Saido dodged the question, "Well I'm heading home, hopefully that Hollow comes back and you can finish it off." He said, surprising Rukia. "I won't force you to come back to the Soul Society, but I doubt the higher ups will be happy. For now, I think I'll let you and the kid keep up the good work. It would be a shame to separate a cute couple." He added.
"He is not my boyfriend!" Rukia angrily yelled.
Saido snickered, "Sure, whatever you say. Also, I don't know what went wrong with the kid or what makes his zanpakuto change. But the energy output he puts in alone could make him a monster, you should keep an eye on him." He said.
"I will." Rukia promised as he watched Saido disappear and make his way back to the Soul Society. She then looked at Ichigo with interest, "I also wonder what makes you special. Still, you're a good person Ichigo. I'm sure your mother would be proud of you." She said as she tried lifting his spirit form.
She wondered where Kon was hiding and where Isshin went. Rukia didn't think Isshin to be neglectful or that stupid to just abandon his daughters.
A few days later
Ichigo yawned as he listened to the class lecture. After learning about Grand Fisher and promising to find the Hollow again someday. Ichigo had a small heart to heart with Isshin and his father told him to never blame himself for Misaki's death. Because the woman was a loving mother and any true mother would always protect their child.
Now, Ichigo will live for his mother and uphold the meaning of his name. Assuming the boredom of school doesn't kill him first.
"Fou."
Ichigo suddenly turned his head at the sound of the voice.
"Fou."
Ichigo's eyes widened as he looked towards Mash and noticed something in her bag. The bag started moving on its own and from the small gap that Mash left open. He saw a white furry animal poking its head out and looking at Ichigo. Ichigo's eyes widened as he subtly looked around and wondered if anyone else could see him.
"Fou?" Fou asked.
"Mash." Ichigo whispered, getting Mash's attention. "Why is Fou here?" He asked.
Mash blushed as she noticed Fou poking his head out, "I'm sorry senpai, he was feeling lonely and didn't want to stay at Chaldea by himself." She answered.
"Why bring him to school?" Ichigo asked.
"He didn't want to stay in the mansion either." Mash answered.
Ichigo held himself back from groaning as loudly as possible. He just hopes that no one will notice Fou and hopefully Mash doesn't get in trouble for bringing a "pet" to school.
Later, lunch hour
Fou was out of the bag and lying on Mash's lap. Where he was patiently waiting for the pink haired girl to feed him.
"Here you go, Fou. Francois was kind enough to make you a tasty snack." Mash said as she pulled out a small sandwich bag with snacks.
"Fou?" Fou asked as he sniffed the bag. "Fou!" He said as he waited to be fed.
"I hope you like it." Mash said as Fou nibbled on her fingers.
"Fou." Fou said with a nod.
Ichigo sighed as he saw Mash feeding Fou as if it were a natural thing to do at school. Ichigo can understand that Fou doesn't want to be alone, there's nothing wrong with that and he's not some housepet. However, Ichigo knew that things would be a lot more tricky to deal with as he didn't want to rely on Rukai erasing everyone's memories all the time.
"So are we just going to have to let Fou come to school with us?" Ichigo asked.
"Senpai, Fou just doesn't want to feel restrained and besides he knows he can't be spotted." Mash said.
"Fou. Fou." Fou said with a nod before jumping into Ichigo's lap and nudging his head. "Fou. Fou." He said as he found a good comfortable spot.
Ichigo sighed, "Fine, it's not like we're bringing something worse." He said.
"Fou. Fou?" Fou asked.
"Fine you can stay, just stay out of trouble and behave." Ichigo said, earning a glare from Fou. Fou responded by trying to swing his paw at Ichigo's face, "It's just the rules, someone has to point them out and unfortunately, that someone is me." He said.
"What's this cute little creature and why have you been hiding it from me?" Rukia asked, appearing out of nowhere.
"Rukia-san, where did you come from?" Mash asked, looking startled.
"That doesn't matter, you two are having your inside jokes and your secret society. So now you feel entitled to hide this adorable little… something." Rukia said, not knowing what animal Fou is. "What are you? Some kind of small puppy? An albino chipmunk?" She asked.
"Fou." Fou said.
"His name is Fou and that's all he wants to be." Ichigo answered as Fou started climbing up to his shoulder.
Rukia nodded before getting her sketchpad, "I have to capture his essence." She said before making a quick sketch. "What do you think?" She asked, presenting a bad drawing.
"How about you take more than a minute to draw?" Ichigo asked.
"Fou."Fou whispered before hiding his face.
"And now you offended Fou." Ichigo said.
"What did I do wrong? I was capturing his essence, not his portrait." Rukia said.
"You made a drawing of Fou catching something. He looks like he's suffering in that sketch." Ichigo said before Rukia bonked him on the head.
"You jerk." Rukia said.
Mash just sweat dropped, 'Rukia-san can't handle rejection, can she?' She wondered.
As the trio talked and Fou listened while enjoying Mash's snacks. None of them noticed a boy with glasses staring at Ichigo intently. Gazing at Ichigo's head as if the ginger haired teenager had committed an evil and unforgivable action against him.
TO BE CONTINUED…