⦏ Bleach (stylized as BLEACH) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tite Kubo. ⦐
⦏ To LOVE-Ru is a Japanese manga series written by Saki Hisemi and illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki, creator of Black Cat. ⦐
⦏ As shown above, I do not own the characters introduced or alluded to within either series but am simply a writer telling of a fanfiction that's aim is to meld their stories together. . . Possibly. ⦐
⦏ I only own what original characters will be introduced in this story, the first example being Masaki Inoue. ⦐
ー Disclaimer

⦏ Tuesday: June 17th, 2008 ⦐
❲ 6:15 p.m. ❳

Crash.

A tree dropped to the ground, bulleted down by the harsh force of the rain.

Rito in his Shinigami form slid against the ground with a grit of his teeth as he looked up. His breaths were sharp as a cut on his face dripped with blood.

His sword raised, prepared for combat.

A moss green flung through the air to approach him. One swing of his sword proved enough to cut through the oncoming attack.

When another came, he was quick to back hop out of its range. The color seeping into the earth below and tearing a crater into it. Rushing forward, Rito slashed through the green pillar and made his way forward.

As he slashed at a mass before him, he was caught off guard by a tendril shooting out from it that struck him in his core. The force of the blow flinging him backward.

As he tumbled against the ground, he stabbed his sword into the ground to bring down his momentum.

More tendrils shot out quickly, heading in Rito's way as he brought his crash to a halt. He raised the blade in hand to swing in either direction. The blade cut through them swiftly.

"You're too slow, boy!"

Rito grit his teeth as he failed to notice that more had been launched. One slicing over his left wrist and right thigh. His eyes snapped wide, his Zanpakuto dropping from his hands.

Rito stomped his foot down to stop himself from falling. Wincing while letting out a groan of pain as blood squirted out as a consequence.

"If this is all that you can muster, then you will never be able to defeat me..."

Rito caught up his breath, allowing himself to grow used to the aching in his wounds.

While he did, the mass before him would violently sprawl outward. The swing of its tendrils knocked away his Zanpakuto with a shimmer of the blade in the rainfall. Before Rito could rush after it, he had been struck in his stomach hard with a double knotted tendril that swung him through a tree.

"At your level of strength, what could you have possibly hoped to accomplish...?"

The mass would lower. Coming to reveal that behind it was a massive gerbil-like silhouette which stared beyond the tree as Rito had gotten up from the ground.

As he had, he glared at the behemoth before him with a spit of his blood on the stump of the desecrated tree before him.

Without a word, he merely raised his fists.

Today was the day...

The day that he made everything right.

⦏ Monday: June 16th, 2008 ⦐
❲ 9:13 a.m. ❳

"Dude, we're totally late!"

Masaki and Mizuiro laughed amongst themselves.

Meanwhile, Keigo had shivered.

"I don't know about you, but Kotegawa will probably slam us down with an iron fist!"

"I thought you'd be into that." Mizuiro looked back toward her, "Don't you have a crush or something?"

"I'm not Saruyama, man!" Keigo hugged himself, "Even I've got my limits, dude...!"

Behind the three, Lala was watching their conversation. They seemed to be getting along like always. But there was a normalcy to the conversation that was missing when it should not be...

Her tail lowered as she turned her gaze back in the direction of Rito. The boy simply stared forward... His gaze was unreadable.

In a way that Lala did not quite like to see on his face.

"Soo... Rito! Did you sleep good last night?"

"Mhm... Sure."

Robotic. A tone that was just... Unnatural when it came from him.

"Rito... What's wro-"

"Take your time, Rito!"

Lala was caught off guard when Masaki had swooped behind her and began to push her on ahead.

"We'll see you at school, okay? But don't take too long! You can't be way too late, now!"

"...yeah."

Rito stopped, reaching his hands into his pockets. He lifted his gaze up toward the sky above and stared at the passing clouds for a short while.

...well, he had better go to school.

"And where were you this morning!?"

Yui threw up a finger in the face of a nervous Masaki, who turned away from her with a nervous chuckle.

"You missed your morning practice!" Yui jabbed her finger in the air, "Do you have no shame!?"

Masaki let out a chuckle and turned back toward her, "Yui-chan, I'm sorry. Seriously!" He waved his hands back and forth, "Don't be mad anymore, please!"

"You're hopeless sometimes..." Yui gave a long sigh.

"Ah, Kotegawa—!"

The pair turned their attentions over toward a smaller girl with short brown hair, her bangs pulled back in a clip.

"Oh, yes, Ogawa-san?"

"You were there today in art class, right?"

"Yes, I was." Yui smiled as she tucked her hair beneath her ear, "Why do you ask?"

"Did you do the project?" She lifted a notebook which she had hugged to her chest, "The My Future Self one?"

"Oh, yes. I've done that one."

Ogawa clasped her hands together in a plea, "Please show me yours!"

The notebook in her arms almost dropped from her arms. Nearly, it hit the ground, but he swung her arms down to lift it up.

"I'm not confident about mine, s-so maybe seeing yours might give me some."

"Oh, I don't mind..."

Yui reached into her bag, drawing from it a notebook.

On the notebook, there was a drawing of a massive meeting where the crowd were all staring up at a podium. Behind this podium was Yui herself speaking proudly, dressed in a jet black suit.

"Woooow!" Ogawa leaned over Yui's desk with stars in her eyes, "This is amazing, Kotegawa!"

"Oh, thank you!" Yui placed a hand over her chest, a confident smirk blessing her features, "I'm surely set to be a member of the diet, rallying for the return of morals to this nation!"

Masaki almost comically fell out of his chair. Of course those were here motivations...

"Your art is so cool... Now I really don't have any confidence..." Ogawa looked down to her notebook with a sweat rolling down the side of her face, "Kotegawa is so good at art. Are you sure you don't want to be an artist?"

"It never crossed my mind before." Yui blinked.

Ogawa then turned her attention toward Masaki, "Oh, what about you, Inoue-kun? What did you draw?"

Masaki snickered with a wide grin, "Oh! I was just hoping you'd ask!" He began to reach into his bag, "Y'know, I'm secretly really proud of this one!"

"Is that so? Then it must be..." Ogawa felt the oxygen leave her lips before she could finish when she saw it, "...incredible."

Both of Yui and Ogawa were sweating bullets while Masaki had a toothy grin.

"MASAKI-KUN, WHAT ON EARTH AM I LOOKING AT!?"

"What? Oh come on, I thought it was obvious!" Masaki tapped his finger against the paper. It was a landscape drawing of a city crumbling at the might of rockets that shot out of the back of a tank-legged robot... With Masaki's head. "It's myself as a super cool killer robot!"

Yui felt her jaw loosen when he had just explained it without an ounce of self-awareness.

"Max speed is 380 kilometers an hour! Flames of 20,000℃ shoot out from the mouth! Oh, also the eyes shoot out special destruction beams! Not to mention that from the back comes a-"

"YOU COMPLETELY MISUNDERSTOOD THE ASSIGNMENT, INOUE-KUN‼"

"ARE YOU TRYING TO GET DETENTION‼!?"

Masaki's head shot up with various question marks. "Um, no?"

Yui let out a harsh sigh as she ran her hand down her face. After a few seconds, she slammed her hands down on the table. To Masaki's dismay, she flipped the page to a blank one.

"AGH! Yui-chan, what're you doing!?"

"You're going to start a new one! I'll cover your notes for today, so make sure you have that done before art class!"

Masaki pulled out a donut and popped it into his mouth, a huff escaping his lips.

"You're saying that like my drawing is bad..."

"It's not about the quality, it's about what IT IS!"

『 Tʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ Hᴇᴀʀᴛ ᴀɴᴅ Sᴏᴜʟ: To-Love Ru 』
【 Chapter 9 | A Sharp Will, A Dull Blade ~𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐧~ 】

"Hey, Kuchiki."

Rukia turned, her gaze lifting to see that Rito had been standing next to her desk.

A light bob of his head was given as a gesture before his elaboration: "Do you have a minute? I'd like to talk in private."

"Oh?" Rukia thought about it. She may get some elaboration on whatever was going on with him this morning: "Sure, I don't mind at all."

"Thanks."

It seemed as though the entire class had watched the pair leave the room. Some watching for longer than others.

"Woah... Rito had a serious look on his face." Keigo mused, "Do you think that h-"

"Huh? W-what're you implying, Asano-san!?" Haruna found herself red at the idea he was inching toward.

Risa turned her attention away with a light shake of her head. "Rito isn't that kind of guy."

Haruna looked toward Risa as if she had seen a ghost. This was the first time since they had met that she referred to him by his actual name and not some pet name. It was almost... Alien to hear.

"Did something happen between you and Rito, Risa?" Lala asked, stepping up behind Haruna.

"Hm? No." Risa placed a finger on her lip, "I still imagine him pinning me down to the bed and-"

"O-okay, I understand!" Haruna waved her hands, her blush only growing stronger.

Risa snickered with a perverse grin as Haruna whimpered, seeming to be overwhelmed by the mere aura the girl was exuberating.

Keigo raised a hand lightly, "But how're you gonna get that wish if he's about to marry Lala and he's got Kuchiki-san at his hip all the time?"

"Rito and Rukia aren't into each other." Lala waved off the idea.

Haruna shot a glance in her direction, "But you still intend to marry Yukki-kun..."

"Well, of course I do~!" Lala giggled as her tail wagged behind her.

"I'm glad you're your normal self, Lala-san."

"Hm?" Lala blinked, but then shrugged it off, "If anybody isn't acting themselves, it's Rito."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Haruna tilted her head lightly.

"Muu, don't you know?" Lala pouted, "I've never seen him so tense!"

"Wow, Lala. I'm impressed you actually noticed."

Behind her, Tatsuki leaned back in her chair. A soft frown was plastered on her face as she stared at the door Rito had left out of.

"It took me two years to."

"Hey, Haruna."

Haruna blinked, her attention moving back toward her best friend.

When it had, she saw that Tatsuki had stood up from her seat. She could only halfway see what it looked like. But she could tell her expression showed a pain she never thought was possible on her face.

"If you've got business with Rito, you'd better hurry up and get it over with today."

Haruna was too focused on trying to read her friend's face to notice her fists were so tightly clutched.

"...because he's not gonna be showing up tomorrow."

Yui had been following behind Masaki as classes came to an end. Her hands tightly gripped onto her bag.

She was quite worried about coming along with Masaki for this. They were going to visit someone that was close to Masaki, sure, but was an absolute stranger to her.

"Oh, Toyokawa-san, hey!"

Masaki suddenly spoke up with a wave.

Yui's attention was brought up to see a girl turning his way with a smile. She had brown hair tied back into a ponytail curled into two using a yellow band.

"Oh, um. Hi there, Masaki." When she had noticed Yui, she gave a bow, "This must be the friend you mentioned. It's nice to meet you, my name is Toyokawa Yui."

"It's good to meet you, too, Toyokawa-san." Yui gave a bow herself, "I'm Kotegawa Yui."

When Yui lifted her head from the bow, Yui was greeted with a smile from Toyokawa that she felt guilty returning.

Quickly, her brain spit out something to make herself more presentable in this situation.

"I-I heard about the situation with your brother." Yui bowed her head again, "My condolences."

"Oh... Thank you." Toyokawa smiled, "I think he'll be happy to have someone new visiting him."

That may be the case, but it did not make Yui feel any less guilty. After all, the one who should be going with them at this moment was...

"Masaki-kun, shouldn't w-"

"Let's get going, huh?"

Yui felt the words in her mouth roll back as Masaki and Toyokawa began to take off without her. Watching them walk ahead for a few minutes, she gulped before beginning to walk forward.

It would not be right to leave now.

. . .

"Shota, we're here!"

The door to a hospital room opened, Toyokawa revealing herself to be the culprit as she stepped inside.

The beeping of the vitals monitor could be heard every so often as the trio gave themselves space within the room. The three were all gathered around a hospital bed where there lied a young man who was far thinner than most his age should possibly be.

Unconscious, he was, kept on a slow pace of breath from the medical equipment attached to his body to provide the supplements necessary to keep him afloat.

Yui was aware of the story that Masaki had given her, but to see in real life was a different matter. She had never seen anyone in a real coma before, so she had no real frame of reference going in.

She could not count television series, given that they were fictional.

"I hope that your rest was good today."

Toyokawa took her seat next to her brother, her hands on her lap as she smiled toward the sleeping boy.

"Mom was really caught up in work today, so she couldn't come with me. But I did bring some friends."

A nod given to her, Masaki took his own seat on the opposite side.

"Hey, Shota." He spoke softly, as to not disturb him, "It's been a little while. Hope you've been alright." He raised a hand to the side, a signal Yui recognized to approach, "I couldn't get Rito to come along. Real jerk, I know. But I did bring along another friend of mine. Her name's Kotegawa Yui-chan."

"You didn't need the honorific..." Yui muttered, Masaki just giving a light chuckle, "It's good to meet you, Shota-san."

"And you talked about not wanting honorifics."

Yui felt the nerve to smack Masaki upside the head pop up. But she refrained for the sake of the patient in the room.

After settling into the situation, the three had broken out into conversation. Yui supposed it was better to come along than just go straight home.

The thought brought a smile to her face.

"Rito's not home yet?"

Mikan rubbed her temple gently.

It was not normal for him to be out so late without at least giving some kind of forewarning. She had hoped he had not been off getting himself into trouble.

Lowering her hand, she went ahead and finished up in storing the food away. He would have to warm it up later should he get hungry. When she opened the fridge again, she looked back. There, she stared toward what she could see of the doorway for a moment.

...where was he?

A sigh escaped her lips as she shut the door.

The girl left the kitchen, pulling the tie from her hair to let it flow down. Slinging it on her finger, she hummed a short tune to herself until she had noticed that Lala was sitting on the couch.

She could see that Magical Girl Kyoko was playing, but Lala's attention was elsewhere.

Mikan closed her eyes softly as she sat down on the recliner.

"Are you worried about Rito?"

When she was spoken up to on the subject, Lala turned her head around and gave a light nod.

"He's been weird all day." Lala raised a hand toward her chest, "And I don't like it when he's stressed like that."

Mikan's face lowered. There was only one reason she knew him to ever get like that. Her lip twitched. Now she really wanted to know where he was.

"Do you know something, Mikan?" Lala tilted her head softly.

She must have noticed her facial expression change. Mikan turned her gaze away with a frown. If this were anyone else, she would tell them to mind their own business.

Though, since it was Lala...

"There's only so much I know. But I'll give you what I do know."

» 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟏𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝｡｡｡? «

⦏ Tuesday: June 17th, 2008 ⦐
❲ 11:14 a.m. ❳

Now Rukia and Rito were standing by the bed in Shota's hospital room, the former rubbing her fingers against her chin as she examined it thoroughly with her eyes.

"Have you noticed it?"

"Yes..." Rukia leaned back, a small frown appearing on her face, "This condition is unlike anything I've seen before. It's never happened while I was out on a mission before."

"Figured it was strange."

One glance into the spiritual rather than the physical allowed for one to realize what it was they were discussing. Hanging heavy on Shota's chest was his chain of fate.

Except it was cracked. In some places, the chips were dropping onto the sheets without anyone to notice except those who knew to look for it.

"You said before that the Chain of Fate being intact meant that they were alive." Rito glanced toward Rukia, "But you never said anything about when the Chain of Fate was like this."

"You're right to believe it's a special case." Rukia lowered her hands.

This time, she pulled out a small notebook. Much to Rito's chagrin.

"In the case of normal dealings, when the Chain of Fate either breaks or remains intact, it determines whether or not one is dead or alive." A happy bunny was on the left, a full chain protruding from its chest. A sad bunny on the right with a broken chain. "However... When the Chain of Fate is in a state like this, where it does not fully break but also struggles to remain intact... It means that the soul is in a state of limbo."

Rito's lips pursed.

There was now a third bunny with swirls in its eyes sitting in the middle, its chain cracked. "In this state, the soul desperately clings to life. Normally, with some treatment, they would have a road towards salvation."

Rito looked back toward Shota on the bed, his hands tucking themselves into his pockets.

"...but it's been too long for Shota..."

"Precisely." Rukia gave a slow nod, "I hate to say it, but it doesn't look like this is fresh. This may even be the cause of his coma. It's what's likely protecting him from fully dying right now. However, he is in a state where it's far too late to return to the living."

"...so you're asking me to kill him?"

Rukia paused, glancing back toward Rito, "...to put him out of his misery, yes."

"I..." Rito grit his teeth, "He's still alive, isn't he...!?"

"In the realest of senses, no." Rukia frowned, "He may as well be a vegetable as he is."

Rito lifted his gaze. Clearly, he was conflicted on the matter. Rukia was not stupid. Was this what had been bothering him this whole time...?

"Can you..." Rito clutched his fist tightly, "Just. Give me a while...?"

"Rito, if you don't do this sooner than later, he might become-"

"I know, I get that!" Rito interrupted, "I promise I'll do it by the end of the day... There's just... Something I absolutely have to take care of first."

"Rito, what could that possibly b-"

"I can't fail him again."

Rukia looked over to Rito, who had sat down next to the bed with a frown.

"What're you talking about?"

Rito folded his hands as he leaned forward, staring down at his unconscious old friend. "Over three years ago, that accident that took his father's life and put him in this state... It-" Rito grit his teeth.

Rukia's eyes slowly came to widen as he finally forced out what he struggled to say.

"It's my fault that he's like this."

"You want to know how I know Rito?" Tatsuki raised a brow as she turned toward Haruna.

The girl was seated on her bed, looking at her with a determined gaze.

When Tatsuki told her the day prior that Rito was going to skip, she certainly seemed distressed about it. Which culminated in her coming to her house after school.

She knew the girl had interest in him, but she wondered if she should give her the answers she wanted.

A long sigh escaped from her lips before she finally dropped down on the bed next to her.

"There was something wrong with Yukki-kun yesterday." Haruna turned to stare at the wall with a frown, "And I'm the only one who didn't notice. So I'd like to know what everyone else does."

"Not everybody knows. Saruyama and them don't."

"Well, that's true." Haruna giggled sheepishly, "But even they could tell something was off."

"They've been around him all the time, so it makes sense they know when he's not his usual self."

Haruna just glanced up in Tatsuki's direction. It seemed that there was no way to avoid fessing up. With that, she leaned forward, folding her hands under her chin as she leaned against her knee.

"Well... It was all the way back when we were all nine." Tatsuki began to muse, "That was back when I went to the dojo."

A much younger Tatsuki was peering down to the riverside, where a group of friends had been together playing soccer amongst themselves.

The girl looked to the side at the path ahead. She should be heading straight home. After all, her mother was probably waiting up ahead...

But...

"I came across him when he used to play soccer at the river a long time ago, but I never approached him back then." Tatsuki chuckled sheepishly, "If there was any reason I could guess as to why..."

"I got it!"

Before the ball could fly toward the water, a boy jumped up and hit it back in bounds with a chest bump.

Laughing proudly while he touched back down onto the ground, a young Rito had a wide grin on his face. One that beamed with a happiness that could never be diminished.

"That guy was always so happy. It was almost sickening."

The young Tatsuki had stared down before she began to make her way down the hill.

Just a little while. Her mother would come get her if she was gone too long, right...?

"He was such a scrawny kid." Tatsuki puffed a cheek, "Grinning like an idiot all the time. It only made it even more clear how puny the guy really was..."

Haruna leaned forward a bit as she listened intently to Tatsuki's story.

"When you met him, he never lost a single sport. He's just a prodigy when it comes down to it..." Tatsuki wiped her nose gently, "But it wasn't always that way."

A hard kick from Tatsuki sent the ball flying. Rito rushed out to leap toward the ball as it flung past. When he made an attempt to guard against the incoming ball...

It would strike at his wrist and bounce off.

When it had, Rito would hit the ground and tumble backward.

"He was so pathetic back then. Whenever the guy lost a match..."

Rito sat up from the ground, staring at the ball that rolled past him.

After a few seconds, his smile would flip around. Tears began to fall from his eyes. Throwing his head back, he would cry loudly.

"There he goes again..." A smaller Masaki shrugged.

A small boy next to him with a bandage over his nose shrugged, "He's always like this..."

"...he just burst out the waterworks!" Tatsuki laughed as she kicked her foot at the memory. Leaning forward, she punched into her palm, "Always made me feel just right when I got to knock him down a peg..."

"But, he was still so weird..."

"Alright, guys. Let's play again!" Masaki called out as everyone got into position.

When he heard the call, Rito had immediately stopped crying. Wiping his eyes, he grabbed the ball from beside him in the midst of getting up from the ground.

"Right!" He snickered loudly as he gave the ball a kick back into bounds.

"Win or lose, he always perked right up when he heard another game was gonna start."

Tatsuki stared as the group had gotten right back into playing, just as they had before.

The more she watched, the more she felt like she was out of the loop. But at the same time...

She herself also went right into the game herself.

"I always hated that about him." Tatsuki frowned, "But at the same time... I wish he never changed."

She could feel Haruna's stare trained on her. It was far too late to hold anything back now. So she supposed she would keep on.

"He always looked so happy. Laughing like there wasn't a thing in the world that could bother him."

Tatsuki found herself chuckling nervously. A cold sweat running down the back of her mind as she began to recall further.

"But... That was just the beginning."

She did not even move her gaze when she heard a gasp escape from Haruna's lips.

"So why did we decide to climb up this hill?" One of Mikan's friends, Sachie, questioned.

The other, a young girl with black hair held up with a blue headband, Nogiwa Mami had turned toward her with a pout, "We're getting away from those boys, aren't we?"

"Yeah, but it's such a tough hill..."

"It's not all that tough." Mikan called from up ahead.

The two of them both gasped while they looked forward. They were shocked that the girl seemed to be completely unfazed by the walk.

"Wow!" Sachie cheered, "How are you able to climb like that!?"

"Huh? Oh. Rito used to take me with him when Dad brought him on hikes sometimes." Mikan shrugged lightly, "I guess I've gotten used to them."

"Just another thing that puts you on a whole different level..."

"Yeah, you're so cool, Mikan!"

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get lost back there!"

Before the two could comment, they heard the whipping of the air as a blur came rushing toward them.

"MIIIIIIIIIIKAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNN-TAAAAAAAAAAAAN‼!"

When the figure had picked up speed to the point the dust had ran behind her, it was revealed to be Jinta. His eyes were wide, bloodshot even.

"Agh!"

"Jinta found us!"

The girls began to run up the hill. Meanwhile, Mikan stared forward with a deadpan expression.

"Ignore him..." Mikan told herself, "Acknowledge him and he won't quit...!"

"I CAME ALL THE WAY FOR YOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUU!"

"RUN!" Mikan cried out, the girls nodding and pushing themselves to escape from the approaching Jinta.

"Just. Wait. A. Sec!"

In a desperate attempt to catch up, he leapt forward to slide below the girls. The three of them all letting out screams.

"I just wanted to talk to you abou-..." As Jinta slid, he peered up at Mikan and found his eyes locked onto a particular area, "...polka dots...!"

Mikan soon swung her head backward. Her leg following suit as it struck at Jinta's head. The boy's eyes bulging out of their sockets on impact before he was sent rolling back down the hill like a bowling ball.

All the while, he had been crying out Mikan's name.

The girl in question simply turned away with a huff while crossing her arms.

"That Jinta..." Sachie sighed.

Mami shook her head lightly, "It's kinda creepy the way he obsesses about Mikan..."

At that, Sachie looked at the girl as though she were crazy.

Mikan, meanwhile, simply wiped over her forehead. A sigh escaped from her lips as she stared into the sky.

"It's really hot today, huh?" Mikan groaned, "It's still only June, too..."

As Mikan turned her attention back up ahead, a brow raised. Her eyes had met with a pair of grayish blue. Ones that stared at her intently. After a few seconds of silence, Mikan had placed her hands on her hips.

"Excuse me, but is there something I can help you with...?"

No response from the figure.

Instead, she was met with confusion from her two friends.

"Mikan?"

"Who are you talking to...?"

Mikan, however, was too focused on who stood before her. A small girl in a pink dress.

What could she possibly want...?

Instead of giving a response, the mysterious girl had turned and took to run off.

"Huh!? Wait a minute, come back!"

When Mikan suddenly took off running again, the two friends behind her looked to one another.

"Mikan, wait up!"

"Don't run so far ahead!"

» 𝐀 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐧!? «

⦗ BGM Cue ー will of the heart ⦅ Shiro Sagisu ⦆ ⦘

"Soon after tryouts for Junior High, there was an incident."

"Incident...?"

Tatsuki lowered her hands, folding them over her lap.

"I don't know exactly what happened... But one of the kids who played with them all the time... Toyokawa Shota. His father died. And he ended up in a coma... And has still been in it since."

Haruna's eyes widened at this.

"And Rito... Well... He was right there when it happened..." Tatsuki's lips pursed, "I couldn't imagine what was going through his head back when it happened... And I still can't imagine it now... Even that far back, he was all smiles wherever he went... Stupidly optimistic about any and everything..."

Haruna turned her attention forward. She never would have known Rito had ever gone through something like this.

"It was like a switch flipped. The day after that, he was gone. No one at school saw him. No matter who I asked, nobody seemed to have any idea where he was..."

The younger Tatsuki breathed heavily as she had stopped at the hill over the riverbank. As she stood there, she would see that Rito had been standing there.

He was looking around. His bag hung over his shoulder loosely as he walked back and forth. His lips moved to speak, but no words escaped from them.

Tatsuki stared for a while. Her lips parted.

He was not smiling.

Rito always smiled.

But he was not smiling.

Instead, his face was contorted in such a way that Tatsuki hated seeing it.

Far more than anything else in the world.

Haruna looked toward her with a surprise in her eyes. Was... That why he quit soccer...?

"It looked like he was searching for something... Or maybe even someone..."

The image of Rito walking back and forth on the riverbank came to Tatsuki's mind again.

"It got to a point where he couldn't even speak anymore. If he ever got tired, he'd squat down. Then he got right up and went back to wandering again, from morning till night."

Tatsuki bit her lip as brought her hand over her temple.

"After that, he was never the same..." She clutched a fist over her pant leg, "I had to beat the crap out of him a few times to get him to quit calling me Arisawa like we didn't know each other."

A wall that still has not been torn down completely for Risa. Despite everything she did that pissed her off, Tatsuki still felt bad for the girl.

She knew it angered her to no bounds. He finally showed back up to school and started distancing himself little by little as the years went by.

That idiot deserved every right hook she had ever given him for it.

A sigh wisped in the air around her, "He may put a smile on his face now... But it's not the smile from when we were kids..."

Haruna's expression softened. She supposed there really was so much she did not know about Rito... "That's..."

"...not true, Tatsuki." A young Rito waved his hands, "Of course I can't see ghosts. That just sounds crazy."

Tatsuki turned away with a light nod, "Thought so. I knew those guys were lying." She puffed a cheek, "Mikami and the others were making such a fuss, saying that 'Yukki's always looking at deserted places talking to no one cuz he can see ghosts'."

Rito merely gave a chuckle as he turned away.

That was a lie he told all the time back in the day.

The truth was that Rito could always see ghosts. For as long as he could remember. Back as a child, he could see them too clearly. To the point where he couldn't differentiate the living from the dead.

He used to always be questioned like that. So he always talked his way out of it, or just avoided the question as best he could.

He never believed it would be any kind of issue.

...until the rain came on that dreadful day.

The rain fell hard that day.

Rito and Shota were walking the sidewalk with the father of the latter in the center of them. The three of them all equipped with fitted raincoats.

"Rito, wasn't I awesome today!?" Shota puffed out his chest.

"Yeah, you were. But you aren't beating me!" Rito smirked.

"What was that!? You tryin' to go!?"

"And what if I am!?"

With a growl on both ends, they butted heads under their umbrellas.

The adult of the situation had a sweat roll down the back of his neck. He let out a chuckle as he patted the both of their heads, "Now, now. Don't fight..."

"Okay..." Rito puffed a cheek as he turned away.

"Sorry, Dad." Shota muttered.

The loud sound of an engine's roar came as a car came by, its back wheel shooting up water from a puddle. This water struck at Shota's face, the boy wincing as he raised an arm in futility to guard.

When Rito saw it, he raised a finger and laughed at him. To this, Shota merely pulled at his eye and stuck out his tongue at the other.

They had finished tryouts for Junior High's soccer team. They were going to be on their way to playing together in the big leagues. All together along with Masaki.

Back then, there was never a reason to be upset. Sure, his own parents were barely around, but he had plenty of friends. Friends that were all practically extended family.

To him, life was nothing short of perfect at the time.

"Come on, why don't you stand on the other side?" The boy's father suggested.

"Nuh uh!" He shook his head, "That's Rito's side. I'm gonna stay on my side!"

"Hmm... Well, fine." His father gave a soft smile, "But if you get wet, it's on you."

"Okay!" The boy then looked over to Rito with a grin, "I think the tryouts went good! How about you, Rito?"

No response from the brunette.

Until that day. When suddenly, that perfect image had shattered in a way that could never be repaired.

"...Rito?"

The boy was staring off onto the riverbank beside them. At the end of it there was a figure. No.

A girl in a pink dress and short black hair. A girl that was standing out in the rain.

Unsteady and without an umbrella.

She was leaning toward the river that looked like it had tidal waves. It seemed like she was about to jump right in.

"Do you guys see her?"

"See who...?" The other's father questioned.

Meanwhile, Shota raised a brow, a cold sweat running behind his hood. "A-are you seeing ghosts again?"

"Wait here!"

Rito suddenly leapt over the railing.

"Huh-"

"Rito!?"

Rito rushed down the hill with all his might.

He had a raincoat, so he was fine. If it proved too much he could use Mr. Toyokawa's umbrella.

This girl had nothing.

She was going to get sick without one.

Rito then saw that she was beginning to lean forward. Beginning to drop down toward the water.

He raised out his arm as his eyes widened. She was going to get hurt if he did not stop.

He was almost there... He w-

"RITO, NO‼"

Rito gasped as a moss green washed over him.

Maybe it was selfish of him to have such a desire. For him to want things to always be as they were. But back when he was a child, he did not care.

That was what he wanted. More than anything in the world.

Rito's eyes slowly came to open. They began to widen at the sight they were greeted to.

Sprawled over him was a deep crimson. A color that buried itself into Rito's mind as his hand slowly raised onto the back of the figure it belonged to.

"Mr... Toyokawa...?"

No answer. A cold silence that he could not bare.

He pushed himself to sit up slowly. The rain dropped far harder when he did. His eyes stared down upon what he used to know as Mr. Toyokawa...

...that was now just a corpse.

He wanted to scream. He wanted to throw up. He wanted to cry.

A myriad of emotions ran through his head as the line of crimson had led his attention to his right. There he saw an unconscious Shota. His eyes only grew wider.

How was a 12 year old boy supposed to face the harsh reality that his wish could never come true?

Rito ran a hand over his face.

Maybe he was not ever supposed to know the answer.

⦗ BGM END ⦘

"Wait...!" The pair of Sachie and Mami were panting heavily when they finally caught up to Mikan, "Mikan...!"

Mikan narrowed her eyes as she saw the girl she was chasing now stood at the edge of a cliff. There, she gazed off at the setting sun that closely approached the horizon.

"What's that kid doing...?"

"Kid?" Sachie lifted her head.

Mami shook her head lightly, "It's only us, Mikan..."

Mikan frowned when she heard that. It seemed like she was dealing with a ghost here. Ugh. This was more of Rito's forte.

Ah well. She could not ignore it now that she went through the trouble of running after her.

"Hang on a sec, you two."

Behind her, they voiced their confusion. It held no consequence to her at this point, though, as her attention was primed on the girl before her.

"What're you looking over that cliff for?"

The girl's head seemed to perk up when Mikan spoke out to her again.

"If there's something you regret..." Mikan jabbed her thumb backward, "The head priest of the closest church lives right down the hill, so go there."

The girl began to turn her head in the direction of the other, a brow raised, "So you can see me."

Mikan hesitated, "Yes. I'm a person who can see you." She would then raise a finger toward her lips, "But don't go telling people, okay? It's kind of embarrassing."

"...you can hear my voice as well..."

"Well, you're the one talking to me."

"I see..." The girl began to grin, "Wonderful..."

Mikan's eyes began to slowly widen. Horrified at the sight before her.

Behind the mysterious girl had appeared the visage of a Hollow's mask with a glowing red gleam in its eyes. The massive visage letting out a roar at the shaking girl.

"I can hardly contain my excitement at this news..."

» 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭｡｡｡? «

⦗ BGM Cue ー Enemy Unseen ⦅ Shiro Sagisu ⦆ ⦘

Despite everything they had done up to this point, Rukia was still unsure as to why the two had skipped school that day. After all, if it was merely for the sake of investigating the condition of his friend's body: that could have been done after school as normal.

He had even made them take a trip home to grab Kon, who seemed to be suspiciously aware of him being picked up.

Was there something that she was not aware of happening?

She certainly wondered that in this moment. Given that she was chasing after Rito to the best of her ability, the boy having suddenly taken off with a serious look on his face.

"Rito!" She called out to the teen, "What's the matter with you!?"

"Your pager!"

"What?"

"Check your damn pager!" Rito rushed forward, "I need you to tell me the exact location that pops up on it‼"

Rukia raised a brow. What on earth could he be talking about? There have not been any or-

Beep, beep, beep!

The Shinigami's eyes widened as she drew the Denreishiki. Popping it open, her eyes widened at the reading that appeared on it.

"How did-" Rukia stopped herself. That was not important at the immediate moment. "It's by a cliff on the edge of town, east!"

"Right!" Rito nodded, "Toss me Kon! I'm going on ahead!"

Rukia frowned at the idea initially, but after some thought, she decided to agree to his plan. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out the stuffed animal and threw the plushie toward Rito.

When the boy caught him, he took off in a blur.

"Gagh!" Rukia raised an arm to defend herself from the dust that picked up, "Would it kill him to tell me what's up with him today...!?"

"Mikan, c'mon!" Sachie began to approach her friend, "It's already starting to get d-"

"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER‼" Mikan suddenly shouted.

Sachie was taken aback by the sudden scream.

Mikan grit her teeth. She wished she could be more lenient with them. Since they could not see what she could, they would not understand they were in danger unless she was direct about it.

"What...are you...?" Mikan felt her blood grow cold. "And what is that..."

The visage of the mask behind her slowly molded into a different shape. The shape of a giant hamster with red bird-like hands and feet and a red tentacle-like limb that hung from its forehead. The tendril attached to the head of the mysterious girl.

"Thing behind you...!?"

"Oh...?" A devilish smirk came onto the stranger's features, "So you can see that much...? Oh yes, you'll do quite nicely..." Smoke rung out from her lips.

A crash against the ground.

Mikan's body flung in the air and tumbled against the ground with a loud cry shooting out from the girl.

Her two friends looked on in shock at the sudden motion of their friend.

"M-Mikan!?"

When she saw them approaching, she began to raise her head toward them.

"D...don't..." Mikan grit her teeth as she tried to push herself up, "I said don't come n-"

Her words were cut off by the scream of pain that shot out from her when she felt an impossible amount of weight crushing down on her back.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH...‼"

"MIKAN!?"

The pair rushed over to their friend. When their hands reached down toward her, they were both shocked to notice their fingers were touching against something else against her back.

"What is this...?"

"There's something on top of Mikan..."

Mikan struggled beneath the grip of the Hollow as the two commented on its talon that was slammed onto her back.

Her eyes widened in horror when the Hollow would suddenly shoot out a pair of tendrils that wrapped tightly around the necks of both girls. With an upward swing, the pair were raised into the air. The tendril squeezed against them to begin choking the life out of them.

"No! Sachi...! Mami...!"

"Shut up..." The girl attached to the Hollow frowned, "These brats are nothing but insignificant flies with no Spiritual Power... I only want the one beneath my heel..."

Tears began to run down the faces of Sachie and Mami as they both desperately grasped at the tendrils around their necks to try and pull them off.

"Trash like you aren't even hors d'oeuveres, but you are an eyesore..." She glared up at the both of them with a venom in her eyes, "I'LL EAT YOU FIRST‼"

"NO‼"

"Hah!"

Mikan looked into the corner of her eyes as she saw a pair of shoes dig into the mask of the monster standing over her.

From there, Rito had been crouched as his feet dug into the face of the Hollow.

The girl attached to it was completely caught off guard as its body would arch backward. The tendrils drooped down to the ground as it began to skit backward.

When it finally was thrown off by the recoil of the kick, the tendrils unrolled and the pair of Sachie and Mami rolled onto the ground. They both let out coughing fits as they held onto their necks.

Mikan, who struggled to sit upward, turned to look toward her savior.

When she had, she was staring at his back. Rito's fists clutched tightly as he stared up at the fallen behemoth.

...she wondered why he was carrying that random plush of Lala's in his hand, though.

"Mikan." Rito spoke up, earning her full attention again, "Take your friends and run. Get as far away from here as you can."

"What?" Mikan's eyes widened, "But what about y-"

"I SAID GO‼"

"O..." Mikan was startled by the sudden declaration, climbing onto her feet, "Okay!"

⦗ BGM PAUSE ⦘

While he heard her run off, he watched as the Hollow recovered from his earlier blow. To his surprise, he saw that standing next to it was a small girl.

The same small girl he saw that day...

"Hey, you're-"

Before he could finish, the Hollow would launch forth tendrils that threatened to stab through the teen.

Gulp.

With a burst of blue energy, Rito's Shinigami form would jump out from his human body.

A single swing proved efficient to cut them apart. Much to the Hollow's chagrin.

"So you're a Shinigami...!"

Rito lowered his sword as he glared toward the girl. He was unsure of how to look at this situation...

"Hang on just a minute. You're that girl from the river... Almost 4 years back...!" He pointed toward her, "So what's your relationship with this Hollow? Why're you here with it!?"

He found himself greatly annoyed at her refusal to answer. After a second, she looked down, seeming to ponder.

"Nearly 4 years...? That's far too long to remember." She sighed, "But I take it you've seen me before...?"

"Yeah, I have." Rito's brows furrowed, "So what the hell are you? Some crony for it? Or does that Hollow have you under its control somehow?"

Once again, he was annoyed by her silence.

"SAY SOMETHING, DAMMIT‼"

At that, the girl had scoffed, "Neither are correct..." Her eyes came to open wider, revealing how dull they were, "...Boy."

When Rito had heard cracking from her body, his eyes bulged out of their sockets.

Behind him, Kon in Rito's body had let out a shriek of shock and disgust.

"What the hell...!?"

"I'm coming in."

To interrupt the tranquil rhythm of the beeping in the hospital room, a clicking of the door sounded as Toyokawa entered.

"I brought you flowers."

A smile was on her face as she shut the door behind her. Though, when she looked up, she came to pick up on something next to the bed.

"Someone already changed them...?"

Having walked around the bed, she examined the vase in the room with her hand gently. Within was a bouquet of bright marigolds. They looked as though they were freshly harvested, too. One brush of her finger against the leaves and they gave off a texture similar to a pillow.

Slowly, her lips began to part as she thought on who could have possibly brought these.

After all, her mother was still at work, she was sure...

Mikan had been running beside the pair of Sachie and Mami, who were both terrified by what had just happened. She wondered if they would be more or less afraid if they actually saw what was choking the life out of them. But, at the same time, she realized it did not matter in this situation.

They were alive, after all.

But...

It left an awful taste in her mouth to leave her brother behind for the sake of her own survival. What if he was eaten...? Like that thing was going to do to her...?

Mikan swallowed those thoughts down.

She had to believe in him. After all, she was certain that he would be fine, right...?

"He runs too damn fast..."

Mikan's eyes peered up. When they had, they landed on the figure of someone she did not know. At the same time, though, she seemed familiar. Had she seen her before...?

When she made eye contact with her, she almost jumped when the older girl practically hopped over to her.

"Did you see your brother? Where is he!?"

Mikan hesitated for a moment. How did she know about Rito...? Was she a classmate?

If that were the case, she was unsure about telling her the direction. After all, he was dealing with that monst-

No. Rito was dealing with that monster. If there was nothing that Mikan, as his little sister, could do for him, then...

"H-he's right up the hill."

"Thank you!"

As the figure ran past, Mikan turned back toward her with a silent plea.

...please let Rito be okay.

» 𝐀 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐥｡｡｡ «

"What the hell...!?"

Rito and Kon were unsure of what they were even witnessing. The mysterious girl having a devious grin on her face.

"What...are you!?"

She began to let out a cackle that Rito would describe as nothing but demonic. Her head lifted, a sight that Kon showed further disgust at.

"A guy who has seen this form and yet survived..."

Rito felt a cold sweat roll down the back of his head.

"You're one lucky guy."

The both of them watched as the girl's skin dropped into two halves. Revealing underneath was a skull attached to a spine which the halves of the skin hung off the end of like a flag.

From the skull shot out a red tendril which would attach to the Hollow behind it, it lifting its head to wave it to the side. Fully showing off its mask, its red lips curled into a wide grin.

"What happened just now...?"

"I'm afraid that luck of yours has ran out..." The Hollow frowned, "Because now that you've seen this form... I can't let you go. Because now you'll be my nourishment..."

"Stop ignoring my questions!" Rito narrowed his eyes, "That kid before... She's a part of you?"

"Grand Fisher."

Rito turned his attention back, seeing that Rukia had arrived with her arms crossed.

"That's his codename." Rukia began, "He hides his body, while his neck protrudes a lure that takes on a human shape."

She stepped up next to the pair as she drew her Denreishiki. With a few presses of the buttons, it began to print a sheet of paper.

"It exclusively targets humans capable of seeing it." Rukia's brows furrowed, "That is to say, he attacks and devours humans who have souls of high spiritual density."

When the paper finally printed, she began to pull it off, "Using this method, he increases his own strength gradually. For 54 long years, he has continued to elude us Shinigami."

She would then offer it toward Rito, "His info. He's highly infamous. Just his name is so well known that Soul Society's database has an extensive record on him."

"As you say... Brat." The Grand Fisher rolled its eyes.

Rito took the sheet of paper and read through what information was printed out. 54 years of strengthening itself... That had to guarantee that this was the strongest Hollow he's come up against so far...

"Anyway, why don't we talk on a lighter note? There's so many of you to devour! One, two, three, four... Four meals in one day, what a catch!"

Rito crumpled the paper before shuffling it into his robe.

What mattered to Rito about this guy most...

Was that the girl Rito tried to save all that time ago, was actually just a lure. A trap that he had fell right into...

...and dragged Mr. Toyokawa and Shota right into.

"I'm just so happy~!" The Hollow grinned widely, "I'm honestly unsure if all of you can fit in my stomach at once... Oh well!"

Rito grit his teeth.

He let this thing do that to them...!

"HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA‼"

⦗ BGM Cue ー heat of the battle ⦅ Shiro Sagisu ⦆ ⦘

The cackling that sounded from the Hollow was the last straw. Rito's grip tightened on his sword as he leapt into the air.

"Rito!?"

Rito's eyes remained locked on the Hollow as he raised his sword up. Prepared to swing down at the creature with a mighty roar.

"FOOL-"

When Rito's blade came down, it stabbed deep into the ground. The ground shook violently and broke apart from the sword digging into the ground.

Lifting his gaze in the direction where Grand Fisher hopped out of the way, he grit his teeth.

"Still inexperienced, aren't you..." Grand Fisher arched his arm back, "Boy!?"

When he threw it forward, the talon-like hand stretched forward at Rito. The boy gripped onto the handle of his sword and swung his weight underneath the blade.

The hand flew toward him with a force and speed that Rito had little time to anticipate. Rito would crouch beneath the blade as he pulled it back while stabbed into the ground.

He kicked his feet against the blade and pushed it upward. When he had, he simultaneously pulled at the handle to drag it through the ground from the other side.

This resulted in a swift cut through Grand Fisher's arm to cause the hand to drop to the ground before it could swing past him at the pair of Kon and Rukia.

As he saw Grand Fisher had another attack launched at him. In the midst of bouncing up from the ground, he stabbed his blade back down. He then pulled his weight against it to swing himself upward.

He crouched against the hilt of his blade, kicking against it to jump upward. His grip still on the blade, he pulled it out of the ground just in time to slash through the other hand that was launched his way.

"Is that all you got!?"

"You're far too fresh to believe you're a match for me..."

Rito braced himself as Grand Fisher's fur sprouted out in a net that shot down over him. Snatching onto the Shinigami, it pulled him off of the ground high into the air. With a slam, Rito's body hit the ground with a force that caused him to cough out as the fur wrapped over his eyes.

"RITO‼" Rukia slammed her hand over her wrist as she placed her fingers forward, "Disintegrate! Rondaninni's Black Dog! Read, burn and devour your own throat!"

Interrupting her, however, was Kon, who picked her up off her feet and rushed off toward the distance.

"Come on, Rukia, let's get out of here!"

"Wh- Kon, what the hell are you doing!?"

"HAGH!"

Rito swung down his blade, cutting himself free from the clutches of the Hollow. He rolled away from the falling fur and shook his head to knock off what traces remained blocking his vision.

"Kon, put me down‼" Rukia hit her fist against his back as she resisted his grip, "If I don't help him, he'll d-"

"Don't interfere, Rukia!"

Kon spoke with a stern expression, one that she had not known to appear on the lion's face.

As Rukia looked back to the battle, she would see Rito's figure standing to face the enemy. His sword pointed toward the enemy.

"This is his fight, Rukia, not ours!"

As she had been pulled away, the clouds above began to gather overhead. Soon enough, a downpour would wash over him.

⦗ BGM PAUSE ⦘

"What the hell was that, Kon!?"

Kon rubbed his head, it smoking from the punch Rukia delivered him when he finally did put her down. They were now a good ways away from where Rito had been fighting Grand Fisher, taking shelter in a shed they found on the way to defend themselves from the rain.

A fact that Rukia was not particularly a fan of.

"Look, Rito's got it. So I don't see what the issue is."

"How can you not!?" Rukia stomped her foot, "Did you not hear me when I said he's been alluding the Shinigami for over half a century!?"

"Yeah, I heard that part." Kon waved it off.

Rukia found her brow twitching in annoyance. How could he act so nonchalant in this situation? No. There were better questions to be asking at the moment.

"When we came to get you today, you seemed to already know we were coming to get you. Why is that?" Rukia crossed her arms, awaiting his answer.

Kon puffed a cheek as he glanced toward her, "We're alone together and that's what you wanna ask about?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"It's always work with you." Kon sighed as he turned away, "Why can't you be Lala-hime and live a little? Now that I think about it, I haven't seen her today. Ugh."

Rukia puffed a cheek as she sighed, "Those matters are irrelevant. Now quit dodging and answer my earlier question."

"Alright, alright. Fine." Kon sighed, pointing toward her, "I put something in your bag when you originally left. Check it."

Rukia had raised a brow, doing as she was advised. When she had, she had drawn out the note that was given to Rito by the spirit from the other day. When she saw it, her gaze moved toward Kon with a blank expression.

"...and what am I supposed to get from this?"

Kon nearly fell over from the shock. Straightening himself out, he had grabbed the paper from her hand and tapped his finger against it.

"Come on, Rukia, look at it!" Kon demanded, "The date is today! And it says what it means right here! Mikan is next!"

Rukia ran the message through her brain for a short moment. Then... The dots began to align.

"Say, Rukia."

"Hm?"

"The night we first met, you said that Hollows were attracted to my high Spiritual Pressure." Rito clutched his sword tightly, "How long has that... Been the case?"

Rukia hesitated upon the question being asked. Furrowing a brow, she raised her sword with a stern gaze.

"There's... No telling. It could honestly be quite some time before we even met." Her lips pursed, "How long have you been able to see Hollows...?"

"Ah... Hmm..." It was now Rito's turn to hesitate, his hand shaking slightly.

"...but it's been too long for Shota..."

"Precisely." Rukia gave a slow nod, "I hate to say it, but it doesn't look like this is fresh. This may even be the cause of his coma. It's what's likely protecting him from fully dying right now. However, he is in a state where it's far too late to return to the living."

"...so you're asking me to kill him?"

Rukia paused, glancing back toward Rito, "...to put him out of his misery, yes."

"I can't fail him again."

Rukia looked over to Rito, who had sat down next to the bed with a frown.

"What're you talking about?"

Rito folded his hands as he leaned forward, staring down at his unconscious old friend. "Over three years ago, that accident that took his father's life and put him in this state... It-" Rito grit his teeth.

Rukia's eyes slowly came to widen as he finally forced out what he struggled to say.

"It's my fault that he's like this."

"...I can't believe I asked him to do that..." Rukia placed a hand over her mouth, a cold bead of sweat running down the back of her head, "I'm so insensitive..."

"Right now, Rito's fighting to get his life back." Kon looked off in the direction from whence they came, "The best thing we can do for him is support him from afar."

Rukia looked up at Kon with a frown. She lowered her head as she grit her teeth.

Even with that... She still had one hope.

"Rito... Don't you dare die."

⦗ BGM RESUME ⦘

Crash.

A tree dropped to the ground, bulleted down by the harsh force of the rain.

Rito in his Shinigami form slid against the ground with a grit of his teeth as he looked up. His breaths were sharp as a cut on his face dripped with blood.

His sword raised, prepared for combat.

A moss green flung through the air to approach him. One swing of his sword proved enough to cut through the oncoming attack.

When another came, he was quick to back hop out of its range. The color seeping into the earth below and tearing a crater into it. Rushing forward, Rito slashed through the green pillar and made his way forward.

As he slashed at a mass before him, he was caught off guard by a tendril shooting out from it that struck him in his core. The force of the blow flinging him backward.

As he tumbled against the ground, he stabbed his sword into the ground to bring down his momentum.

More tendrils shot out quickly, heading in Rito's way as he brought his crash to a halt. He raised the blade in hand to swing in either direction. The blade cut through them swiftly.

"You're too slow, Boy!"

Rito grit his teeth as he failed to notice that more had been launched. One slicing over his left wrist and right thigh. His eyes snapped wide, his Zanpakuto dropping from his hands.

Rito stomped his foot down to stop himself from falling. Wincing while letting out a groan of pain as blood squirted out as a consequence.

"If this is all that you can muster, then you will never be able to defeat me..."

Rito caught up his breath, allowing himself to grow used to the aching in his wounds.

While he did, the mass before him would violently sprawl outward. The swing of its tendrils knocked away his Zanpakuto with a shimmer of the blade in the rainfall. Before Rito could rush after it, he had been struck in his stomach hard with a double knotted tendril that swung him through a tree.

"At your level of strength, what could you have possibly hoped to accomplish...?"

The mass would lower. In that moment, the Grand Fisher revealed itself and stared beyond the tree as Rito had gotten up from the ground.

As he had, he glared at the behemoth before him with a spit of his blood on the stump of the desecrated tree before him.

Without a word, he merely raised his fists.

As he took his stance, his clothes would begin to flutter in the air. Slowly, a golden haze began to erupt around his figure. His eyes shining a particular gleam to them as his fists tightened.

Today was the day...

The day that he made everything right.

With a push of his feet, he took to rush directly at the beast as it swung forth its fur to impede him. He hopped over the tendril and stamped his foot onto it.

There, he used it as a footing to propel himself closer to the Hollow's mask.

It was there that he would throw forth a punch. The force of the blow being enough to rattle the Hollow's head backward. A cry of pain let out from the monster before it shot its claw at him. Rito grit his teeth as it jabbed into his side. The force of the blow throwing him aside.

Before he hit the ground, he slammed his hand onto it. The force of his fingers dragging against the earth having skid him to a halt.

He raised his gaze up toward the Hollow and pushed himself forward. Kicking against the ground, he leapt into the the air over the head of the Hollow.

Grand Fisher retaliated by shooting up his fur to grab him right out of the air. With a whip of his body, he slammed the Shinigami down into the ground with enough force to cause a crater.

Rito coughed out and reached upward to grab onto the tendrils coiled around his body. With a roar, he pulled on them with all of his might to give Grand Fisher the same treatment in retaliation.

The ground crackled as the massive beast was sent mask first onto the other side.

Rito caught up on his breath as he pushed himself up and ran over to pick his sword up from where it was flung to.

This was just in time to be faced with Grand Fisher, who had recovered after a growl escaped from his lips.

"I commend you. It's rather brave of you to send your friends away like that to come at me alone..." The Hollow's eyes gleamed a bright red, "But also very stupid..."

"I wonder if those will be your last words, too..." Rito taunted, affirming his grip on the handle of his blade.

⦗ BGM Change ー On the Precipice of Defeat ⦅ Shiro Sagisu ⦆ ⦘

"Y'know... I never really bothered to ask how anybody else felt about it." Rito lowered his head, "I was so wallowed up in my own pain on the matter that I looked away from everyone else. I knew they had their pains too, and to this day, I know they're all far stronger than me when it comes right down to it..."

Rito looked over his sword with a frown.

"Maybe if it were Masaki or something... He'd know what to do..."

"Even so..."

Rito raised his blade forward again, his eyes locked onto the Grand Fisher. He did not notice that the Hollow flinched briefly as he stared him down.

"I'm the one standing here now." Rito pulled the sword back, beginning to make his charge at the Hollow. "I'm the one who let it happen all those years ago!"

The Grand Fisher immediately jumped backward. His fur shot out from its body and formed a protective layer over it.

Rito swung his blade with a roar. The backward whip of the wind against the fur would cause it to bend backward. It seemed to avoid the blow the blade had in store for it.

However, when the tip of the sword grazed against it, it would suddenly burst as if it were completely cut through. The Grand Fisher's eyes snapped open as it jumped back further. Rito quickly pursued after him.

"Cheap luck won't save you, Boy!"

When moss shot at him again, he instinctively slashed forward to cut through it.

Though, to his surprise, it would instead ring around him. His eyes widened when the Grand Fisher vanished from in front of him. That would have to mean-

His suspicions were answered with a backhand that struck at his shoulder and popped his bones before flinging him aside.

Quickly, Rito had caught himself with his blade. He swung off the blade to lift himself into the air before more tendrils were flung at him. To dive downward, he stabbed down at the tendrils and dropped through them.

As he landed, he pulled his blade from the ground and raised the blade forward. Ready to easily guard against the claw that flung toward him.

He growled as his feet dragged against the soil below from the force of the palm strike.

When he finally came to a stop, Rito looked up toward the Hollow with a smirk.

Though, he was caught off guard when he was met with a similar expression. He tried to open his guard by throwing the claw that was already on him off. As he had, though, the other claw came like a bullet. Stabbing into his stomach and launching him back into the trees up behind him.

As the trees came down, Rito had sat up. He got up from the ground, holding his now bleeding stomach, he raised his sword again.

He raised himself up from the ground as the Grand Fisher stepped closer, the Hollow licking his lips.

"I told you already, didn't I? You're a lucky guy. But it will only last for so long..."

Rito glared up at him. He raised his blade to guard against the claw that slammed down on him. The force the Hollow gave pushed him down onto the ground.

As the Hollow applied more pressure, Rito found his Zanpakuto being pushed closer and closer toward his chest.

"You may be strong... But you lack the discipline to jump into the lion's den like you have..." Grand Fisher narrowed his eyes, "Carelessness leads to a quick death on the battlefield‼"

⦗ BGM END ⦘

Rito's eyes widened as he felt his skin pierced. Five times. No. All at once. In five different spots.

When he realized himself in the moment, he saw that the Grand Fisher's claw had its nails extend directly into his body. A deep crimson spewing out from his body as it drippled along his kimono.

"AH!" Rito's eyes shook, "Ugh...!"

Rito coughed out blood from the strike, the small puddles of red being drowned out by the rain that fell over them.

The same red that he saw that horrid day.

His vision blurred in the instant that the Hollow pulled its hand from his chest. His knees buckled, him feeling that he was dropping.

Dropping? No. He could not.

Dropping meant defeat.

Rito stabbed his sword into the ground to stop himself. The rest of his body faltering as he struggled to keep himself standing.

Defeat was not an option.

He was here to win.

A groan escaped his lips as his entire body resisted his desire to remain standing.

He had not been used to taking such a degree of damage. Sure. But he did get used to fighting for his life.

This was no different. It was not allowed to be different.

Not when this battle mattered so much.

"That'll teach you not to be so reckless, Amateur." Grand Fisher presented his bloodied claws with a toothy grin, "In your dying breath, you'll realize that you'll wish those friends of yours were here to assist you... That way you'd at least get to die together!"

"Shut up...!" Rito pushed himself onto his feet, raising his sword forward. "Careless... Reckless... Whatever the hell you want to call it..."

His breaths took a moment to catch up, but surely enough they had. Rito soon reached a point where he was steady. Able to stand straight up before his enemy.

"Even if it takes my arms and legs being ripped right off..." Rito began to charge again, "I WILL DEFEAT YOU‼"

A swing of his sword forward.

When it had, the Grand Fisher had vanished from sight. Immediately, he looked around in a panic.

Just where did he go...!?

"Yukki-kun?"

Rito felt his heart stop when he heard the last voice he ever expected to be around. His entire frame turned as he looked behind him.

There, he made eye contact with Haruna. Who had been looking toward him with a woeful expression.

» 𝐀𝐭 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐲𝐚𝐫𝐝｡ «

Mikan found herself staring up at the sky. She was seated at a bus stop, her friends having already left.

They were right to. After all, something terrifying did almost happen to them.

But Mikan could not bring herself to just go home.

She was not sure she could handle it at the moment if she went home and Rito was not there...

"Oh, Mikan! There you are~❤"

A familiar bright voice spoke up as Lala had landed on the ground right before her.

"Lala...?"

Mikan's brain then immediately snapped back to her previous line of thought.

"L-Lala! It's Rito, he's in trouble!"

"Huh? Rito's in trouble?" Lala tilted her head lightly.

"There was a monster at the hill, and when it was about to get at us, Rito came in and-"

She stopped when Lala placed her hands on either of Mikan's shoulders lightly. A gentle smile on her face.

"Oh, Mikan. You're saying silly things." She spoke gently, rubbing the girl's head softly, "It was probably just a bad dream. Look at you, you're all wet. We should get you a raincoat."

As Lala pulled back to draw out her D-Dial, Mikan looked down with a distant gaze.

A dream...?

But... It all felt so real...

"...it was just a dream, right..." Mikan muttered, the image of Rito standing before her coming to mind, "...Onii-chan...?"

"...you're actually gonna sit here and wait?"

"What are you talking about?"

Kon was sitting against a tree with a disappointed gaze toward Rukia. At the girl's confusion, he simply rolled his eyes.

"You're not gonna go try and save Rito?"

"He said not to interfere." Rukia furrowed her brows, "You're the one who spent all that time convincing me to stay."

Kon let out a groan, "Yeah. I convinced you to not interfere. But that was with the fight. Somebody's still gotta make sure he comes out alive, right?"

To that, Rukia gave no response. Her brows furrowed as she stared to the ground.

"You're really gonna leave it alone?" Kon frowned, "You're the one who kept saying this Hollow's too strong."

The silence on Rukia's end was beginning to grind the Mod-Soul's gears. He raised his hand to scratch the back of his head as he tilted his head.

"He's... Not gonna die, is he?"

"...I couldn't say."

Kon sighed. That was not the vote of confidence he was hoping for. What kind of buddy was this. If he had Rukia as his partner in this situation, he would not need any enemies.

Rito was leaning against his desk with a frown as he stared at the message he got from the boy. It was the night that they found Kon his new body. But Rito was focused on other business.

"Hey, what's with the long face over there?"

Rito looked to the corner of his eye as the lion climbed up onto his desk. Kon would then walk over and stop as he looked at the message.

He double took for a second before grabbing onto it with a cry of shock.

One that Rito immediately slapped a hand over his mouth to silence.

"Hey, don't shout like that, stupid!"

Kon's response was muffled. So, to let him try again, Rito pulled back his hand.

"But Mikan's your sister's name, isn't it!? Is some guy threatening her or somethin'!?"

"No. Well. Not just some guy..." Rito took a hold of the paper with a frown, "I got this from a spirit of... An old friend."

"Oh... So would that mean...?"

"Yeah." Rito nodded, "A Hollow is after Mikan."

"Then we'd better tell Ru-"

"No." Rito spoke sternly, "We can't tell her."

"Wh- Why not!?" Kon pointed his paw up at the boy, "In case you forgot, Rukia knows way more about Hollow stuff than either of us!"

"I know, I know." Rito then took the paper and slid it into the drawer of his desk. "But this time, things are... Personal."

Kon stared up at Rito for a short while. Then, with a huff, he crossed his arms and turned away.

"All right. What's the plan?"

"You're gonna help me out...?" Rito blinked.

Kon returned his attention, "Well, of course I am! Mikan's as much of family to me as she is to you now, so of course I'm gonna step up if she needs help! That's just common sense."

Rito leaned back in his chair with a soft expression, "Y'know. You're a lot kinder a person I gave you credit for."

"Can I ask you a favor?"

Rukia turned toward Kon, a brow raised on her face.

Kon hesitated, his finger tapping against his knee, "...please go and save Rito."

⦗ BGM Cue ー will of the heart ⦅ Shiro Sagisu ⦆ ⦘

...and after Kon literally begged her into it, Rukia found herself running through the forest once the rain cleared to go out and find Rito.

Well. That was not the only deciding factor.

Of course she felt it imperative to go.

But at the same time... What was it she was going to accomplish?

For her to run to him like this...

She felt like an idiot.

What the hell was she doing? What the hell was she supposed to do?

In this battle, the driving force for Rito is a grave remorse. One that kept anything that Rukia had to say from actually reaching him. He was an unstoppable force being weighed against an immovable object.

For the first time since she had given him her powers...

He was fighting for the sake of himself rather than others.

Granting him a certain victory through assistance... Would it satiate the deep hunger for vengeance inside of him? Was there anything she could do without wounding him further?

She stopped when she reached an incline that peered deeper into the forest. There she saw that the Grand Fisher had been hiding within the grass with a wide grin.

Meanwhile, beside Rito was...

Rukia's eyes widened.

A hole in his chest. One that bled profusely.

Why did it make her feel pain herself to see it. She raised a hand over her arm to calm her nerves. To calm her immediate instinct to step into the battle herself.

She must not interfere.

Rito's victory had to come from his own efforts... Otherwise. He would never be happy with the result.

In the case of that...

"What becomes of his pride?"

Rukia remembered as she struggled not to draw her blade. A taller man standing before her with a white haori over his shihakusho. Most notably, the figure had brown hair that framed around his square glasses.

"By lending your power now, you will indeed save his life." The man spoke with a gentle tone, "However, at the same time, you will permanently kill his pride."

Back then, Rukia could never understand what those words meant.

What was pride in the comparison of one's own life? She was not sure she would ever truly find the answer.

"Very well, then I'll give you something to remember." The man turned toward her with a smile, "There are two types of fights that involve us putting our lives on the line. And with experience, you'll learn to distinguish between the two."

Rukia's eyes moved toward the battle ahead of her, her hand beginning to lower from her blade.

"The fight to protect life, and the fight to protect pride."

...yes. She understood now.

This was a fight to protect pride. Rito's pride.

For her to interfere...!

"Don't interfere..."

She ordered herself.

She cursed the nerve that still wanted to.

"Don't interfere."

Again, she commanded herself.

But her body still resisted.

"Don't interfere! DON'T INTERFERE...!"

She hugged herself tightly. She could not bring herself to even give the order anymore.

It was just too difficult to stop herself now that she was a direct witness to it.

"...don't die..." Rukia's face contorted in an intangable pain, "...you just can't...!"

⦗ BGM END ⦘

"You're in so much pain, Yukki-kun..."

Rito's head lowered, his bangs covering his eyes.

Haruna, seeing no reaction from him, began to step closer.

"Come on, put the sword down... Just rest..."

Rito felt his hands twitch.

Why...?

Why was Haruna...?

No. He was more than certain that Haruna could not see him... So why...?

Unless...!

Rito hopped backward instinctively, a spiral of moss green shooting forth and cutting through his side in an upward swipe.

He let out a cry of pain as he had landed on the ground. More crimson dropped to the ground afterward. Soon enough, more rain fell from the heavens as the Grand Fisher made his presence known.

"...so you made a fake Haruna to screw with me...!?"

"Did you fail to notice?" The Hollow raised its hand, "When I attacked you before, I only used this hand..." Slowly, the skin on the fingers peeled back, revealing a metallic blade beneath them, "With these claws, I peered into your memories‼"

Rito gulped, his breath picking up some as his side continued to leak.

"With my other hand, I can mold my 'lure' as you call it into something from those memories..."

The Hollow then pointed toward him. His finger slowly began to roll in a circle, "Even the most cold hearted Shinigami have a person whom they could never cut. That is inevitable." He clutched his fist, "By exploiting that, I've evaded the Shinigami for years now!"

Rito raised his sword again, his brows furrowed.

"And for you... That person ought to be her."

"Yeah, you would never cut me, right...?" 'Haruna' beamed at him, "...Yukki-kun?"

Rito tightened his grip on his sword. He refused to answer. Instead, he braced himself for whatever may come next.

"What's the matter? Stunned into silence at a mere call of your name...?"

"SCREW YOU‼" Rito began to charge forward while he raised his sword, "DON'T BRING HARUNA INTO THIS‼"

Before he could make to attack him, though, 'Haruna' leapt in front of the Hollow. He stopped in the midst of his charge and lowered his sword somewhat.

Even if she was not the real thing... To hit something with Haruna's face was...!

"Don't do it, Yukki-kun... Please sheathe your sword." 'Haruna' leaned against him, "For me...?"

From behind 'Haruna', the Grand Fisher would leap forward. Having arched his arm back, he shot it forward to stab through the both of 'Haruna' and Rito. The latter let out a belch as blood poured from the newly formed hole in his stomach.

"The same trick for over 50 years... You've proven yourself to be no different than all that came before..." Grand Fisher snickered, "Your anger dulls your blade, Boy."

Rito's breaths were jagged as the hand that pierced him was firmly clutched.

"Now it's all over! SO LET'S PAY RESPECT‼" Grand Fisher began to cackle, "Out of all those I've encountered, you were the youngest, the most thoughtless, and the WEAKEST SHINIGAMI OF ALL‼"

With a triumphant laugh, he made to pull his arm back.

...to no avail.

⦗ BGM Cue ー Mosquito Bite ⦅ Alexandros ⦆ ⦘

"Huh-"

Next he knew, the right side of his vision was blacked out. And a deep pain ran through it.

This was courtesy of Rito's blade that was stabbed into it.

"If my blade is so dull..." Rito's hand clutched onto Grand Fisher's wrist, "...then it looks like it's more than enough for trash like you...!"

Grand Fisher's eye snapped wider as he would cry out in pain. With a violent swing of his entire body, he threw Rito aside with a whip of bright red in the air as the Shinigami tumbled against the ground.

Grand Fisher stepped back with a loud cry of pain as blood poured out from the stab wound in his right eye.

Rito pushed himself off of the ground and took to charge at the Hollow.

Grand Fisher's body shot various tendrils of fur at Rito, who seemed now to effortlessly dodge. His skewered vision only allowed him so much accuracy...!

"IT'S OVER, FISHER‼"

Rito leapt into the air. The wind whipped around him as he went overhead of the Hollow. As he did, the elder Hollow sent 'Haruna' up at him. A last attempt to distract Rito from finishing the Hollow off.

Rito, however, would merely grip onto 'Haruna's shoulders. With a pull of all his weight in the downward momentum, he shot himself over her head to fall faster.

Somersaulting in the air, he would land on Grand Fisher's screaming face with a slam of his feet. His palms hitting the end of the handle, he pushed down with all his strength to send the Hollow straight down into the ground.

The rain sprung around them as the earth shook with a crater below him.

"So let's..." Rito grunted, the pain beginning to surpass his adrenaline rush, "Pay respect!"

He positioned his hands for a swing of the blade while the Grand Fisher had struggled to recover below him.

"Out of all those I've encountered..." Rito spoke between breaths, "You were the oldest... The filthiest..."

Behind him, 'Haruna' would hit the ground with a weak cry of his name. She begged for him to stop. Begged for him to spare the Hollow.

...but the time for mercy had never arrived.

"Most irritating Hollow of all."

With a swing of his arms like a low swing of a baseball bat, he would slash through the head of the beast below him. A gush of black blood ran across the grass field.

⦗ BGM END ⦘

» 𝐀𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬, 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲｡ «

Masaki placed his hands behind his head as he looked out the window.

"Oh, it's raining."

"Wh- No way!" Yui got up from her chair and walked over to the window, "But it was sunny all day today!"

When she looked out and saw the dreary weather outside, she frowned. Then, she looked to Masaki with a deadpan expression.

"...you're right."

"Hey, Yui-chan. You don't mind if I borrow an umbrella, do ya?"

Yui looked back at him with a light shrug, "Well, I guess you could, but wouldn't it be better if you stayed over? I'm pretty sure Yu wouldn't mind preparing the guest room for you." She looked to him with a stern gaze, "Besides, last I checked, there was a hole in the ceiling of your apartment."

"Oh, there..." Masaki chuckled sheepishly, "I got kicked out."

Yui's eyes practically bulged out of her skull, "YOU GOT KICKED OUT!?" She now felt sweat rolling down the back of her head, "WHY IS THIS THE FIRST TIME I'VE HEARD OF THIS!? WHERE ARE YOU LIVING NOW?!"

Masaki proudly presented... A red sleeping bag.

"YOU'RE HOMELESS!?"

"Oh, but check this out!" Masaki would then pull at the inside, showing the yellow fabric pulling out from within, "It's reversible!"

"IT BEING REVERSIBLE IS NOT IMPORTANT‼" Yui snapped, "STOP SMILING LIKE IT'S NO BIG DEAL‼"

"Whaaat? It's totally not!"

"You're staying over tonight, and I will hear no objections."

"You sure you don't wanna stay over?"

Tatsuki was standing at the doorway as Haruna was taking her leave.

"None of my family's coming home tonight, so you won't be a bother."

Haruna shook her head lightly, a light smile on her face.

"No, that's okay." She opened her umbrella, "I'm pretty sure Nee-san isn't coming home tonight either, so I have to make sure Marron is taken care of."

"Oh, right." Tatsuki gave a sheepish chuckle, "Then, seeya."

"Yeah." Haruna began to walk out into the greater world, "See you tomorrow."

Her eyes remained glued to the floor as she walked. The lights above illuminating her path as she kept onward. The heels of her shoes lightly tapping against the water spread over the quiet road.

"He may put a smile on his face now... But it's not the smile from when we were kids."

Those words, they wedged a knife in her chest unlike the rest.

The Rito she knew from Junior High... She wondered if the person she thought was amazing for the time he played various sports...

Did he suffer that entire while...?

"Yukki-kun..." Haruna began to lift her head upward with a frown, "Maybe now I understand the world you live in... Just a little more."

The metal of the blade rung through the forest as Rito used it to kill himself standing. The Hollow faded from existence before his eyes as he breathed heavily.

A creaking sounded before the strap of his sheath snapped. The container dropping to the ground with a clang. It being pelleted with the rain as if it were holding it down where it fell.

His wounds bled profusely, but that was not at the forefront of his mind.

"Serves you right..." Rito grinned, "Bastard..."

"RITO‼"

He looked to the corner of his eye. There stood Rukia, who had a look of great concern on her face.

A chuckle escaped his lips as he looked back at where the Hollow disintegrated from, "You're late... I already finished the job..."

She hesitated for a moment, but then her lips curled into a smile, "...you fool. I thought you didn't want me to interfere..."

"Oh yeah...?" Rito chuckled, "You've never listened to me before..."

Rukia could only give a smirk as she crossed her arms.

He had her so worried...

Her smirk lowered when she heard his sword digging at the ground.

"Hm? What're you doing?"

"I have to... Help Shota... Now..." Rito dragged himself against his sword as he made to walk on.

Rukia immediately stopped in front of him, her arms spread out.

"You're not going in that state. You'd never make it."

"You're the one... Who said it had to be today..."

"You've never listened to me before."

She heard no response from him. Realizing that he had no intention of stopping, she immediately moved to push against him to stop him.

"Rito! You have to stop!" Rukia tried to avoid his wounds, but it only made her more resolute in stopping him when the blood ran over her hands, "You can't do this! We'll come back later!"

"No...!" Rito grit his teeth, his eyes staring forward.

Rukia could see how the light was fading from them, which made her heart skip a beat.

"I finally did something right...!" Rito reached past Rukia with what little might remained, "I have to..."

"Listen to me, dammit!" Rukia cried out in desperation, "RITO‼"

Before long, she would see he had no ability to fulfill his ambition. His body would descend as the last of his strength waned. Rukia quickly pulled up her arms to catch onto him as he dropped to the ground.

"...Rito..."

. . .

After a while, Rukia sat against the floor with Rito's head on her lap. She stared down at his unconscious form with a frown.

He was always so reckless. He was always making her worry for him.

She relaxed when she heard the rustling of the trees behind her.

"...Rukia-tan."

"Don't worry."

She began to smile gently. Her hand softly moved over Rito's face to move his hair from his eyes.

"A Shinigami's life force is directly proportionate to their personal amounts of Reishi." Rukia began, "And our idiot here has plenty of that... To not die from these injuries... For being able to survive..."

Rukia leaned over him with a gentle expression on her face as Rito's breathing steadied.

"...thank you... Rito."

From afar, a foot touched down on the grass. A mature woman with an umbrella had watched them for a moment's time.

After the moment passed, a smile came onto her face as she made her approach.

» 𝐀 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐲 𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐥｡｡｡ «

"AGH!"

Rito sprung up with a shout of pain. Raising a hand to his face, he winced at the feel of a cut against his face. One of the ones from the fight against Grand Fisher, certainly.

Luckily for him, he supposed, the cuts themselves were covered with bandages.

"Don't make such a big fuss!" Rukia had her arms crossed beside him, Kon sleeping in her bag on the nightstand. "Wounds received in your Soul State will show up when you return to your body. You ought to know that by now."

"Well, I've gotten used to all my wounds already being healed by the time I get back." Rito rubbed his cheek gently.

Rukia averted her gaze at the comment, "I only had the strength to heal the hole in your stomach."

"No, I'm not trying to demean anything. Thank you for healing me..." Rito then looked around, "But where are we...?"

"A woman allowed us to stay in her house since it was close by." Rukia frowned, "Normally, I would have turned down the offer, but your house is way too far for me to carry you all the way."

"Ah, I see... I'd better thank her later, too." He turned toward her with a frown, "What time is it?"

"It's about to be dawn."

When Rito was about to grumble about the fact that Mikan may chew him out over being so late, he refrained.

Across the room, he found himself making eye contact with the young spirit he met before... Of Shota, the last he was conscious.

The spirit gave him a gentle nod of his head before turning away, fading from view.

Rito grabbed at his shirt tightly. He sat for a moment while he snapped his eyes shut tightly.

He took a deep. Long. Breath.

Once it released, his eyes would open again.

"We have one more thing we need to do."

⦗ BGM Cue ー Going Home ⦅ Shiro Sagisu ⦆ ⦘

Rito stared up at the school gate.

As others passed by him to get to class, his hands drooped down from his pockets.

"...in a better world, you would've been coming to school with us, too." He muttered, "Shota."

His attention lowered, his gaze becoming trained on the floor below.

"I avenged the both of you..." His fists clutched tightly, "But what does it matter when I still couldn't save you in the end...?"

"Goooooooood morning—!"

Masaki had approached, alone with his bag hoisted over his shoulder.

"I was thinking that I was the one who was too early, but look at you. You're already here." Masaki raised a finger to his chin, "Did you even eat breakfast, man?"

"Wasn't hungry."

"What would poor Mikan-chan say if she heard that?"

"She'd just let Lala have it." Rito rubbed his ear, "Besides, it's not that serious."

"It totally is!"

Masaki shook his head lightly, placing his hands on his hips as he turned to face the same direction as his friend. As he looked up, his lips lowered somewhat.

"...you heard the news?"

"...yeah." Rito bit his lip.

How could he not have heard it when he was the one who rang the bell?

"Toyokawa's probably not gonna show up today. Hell, her mom called off work." Masaki rubbed his neck gently, "Personally? Not even sure how to take it."

Masaki leaned against the wall of the school gate, a sigh escaping his lips. He moved his hand from his neck upward, running it through his hair. He sighed as he gently grabbed onto the tie around his neck.

"Already lost one brother... Two's a bit much, ya know?"

Rito lifted his head again, his eyes glued to the sky above.

"Thank you guys for loving me." Rito muttered. "Those were his last words."

"Then, you visited him?" Masaki looked over with wide eyes.

"Yeah... It felt wrong to reconcile with you and not him."

Rito remained stationary for a while. It was unfair that the person who got to hear them was the one who could not bare to show his face until so soon...

Shota even passed on with a smile on his face.

...damn it.

Before long, Masaki spun over and gave him a chop on the head.

"Huh!? What was that for?"

"Don't be all gloomy, man!" Masaki pointed a finger at him, "Shota wouldn't wanna see that. Instead, he'd wanna see us livin' our best! We'd want the same for him, no?"

"Huh?"

"If he sees that you're doing well over here, then he'll rest easy on the other side." Masaki pocketed his hands, "At least he gets to be with his Dad again..."

Rito's lips twitched at that.

It was unfortunate that Masaki would never know that Mr. Toyokawa's soul was...

"You have practice today?"

"Yep. Gonna give it my 99%! Gotta still have a healthy 1% to cry, ya know?" Masaki hugged himself, "Yui-chan will probably scold me if I put it all into work and don't rest up."

"Yeah... She probably would."

Masaki looked over with a puffed cheek before looking up in thought, "Oh, I know! How about we get some Tanuki Soba after practice? We always loved to eat that together after a good game!"

"You don't have to be nice to me."

"Huh?" Masaki raised a brow. Then, he slapped against Rito's back with a small laugh, "What're you talking about? We're friends, man!"

Rito's hands balled into fists, his teeth grinding against one another, "...why..."

Masaki lowered his hand as he noticed Rito's frame shaking before him.

"Why... Can you just smile and call me your friend like that...?" Rito's hair covered over his eyes, "Why won't anybody blame me...!?" He shook his head, "Not Mrs. Toyokawa... Not his sister... Not you... Nobody will call out the fact that it's my fault that incident happened‼"

Rito placed his hand over his face as the mental images of all involved came to mind.

Mrs. Toyokawa, who lost her husband and now her son permanently.

Toyokawa Yui, who lost her brother and father.

Inoue Masaki, who lost someone he called a brother.

Mr. Toyokawa, the man he practically saw as a second father that he made rush to his death.

Toyokawa Shota, his sworn brother on the field they never got a chance to play on because of his actions.

Not even Rukia, who knew what effect his mere existence had in the situation...

"Why doesn't anybody blame me!?" Rito's voice choked up some as he held back tears, "It would be so much easier to understand if you guys just blamed me! So why!?"

"Why..." Masaki spoke up, "...would I ever blame you...?"

Rito paused, his eyes wide as he lowered his hand from his face.

"Rito. What happened that day wasn't anybody's fault." Masaki shook his head lightly, "Mr. Toyokawa was an inspirational guy, and he died trying to keep two of his sons safe." Masaki pressed a finger against Rito's chest. "And Shota fought as long as he could. To blame you for what happened would be like ignoring all that work he put in. He stayed around as long as he could to hear everything we had to say to him, for as long as we needed."

Masaki turned away as he wiped a tear.

"I know I'd wish I had a chance like that with Sora."

"...Masaki—"

"Surprise kick!"

Before Rito could make any comment, he found himself hit in the shin by Masaki's leg. He dropped to a knee with a groan as Masaki had skipped past the gate with a wave.

Agh. This guy was like a schoolgirl sometimes...!

"I'm gonna head off to class now!" Masaki began to take off, "Just try to remember, you gotta always do your best‼"

Once his friend was gone, Rito had gotten up from the ground. He stood in silence for a few seconds as he pondered over the conversation he just had.

"—you listening, Rukia?"

He did not even have to look to know that she was watching from somewhere. So, he decided to just continue with his thoughts.

"Does it look like your Shinigami Powers are coming back to you?" Rito lifted his head somewhat, "Well, that doesn't really matter. I guess what I'm asking is... Let me stay as a Shinigami. Just for a little while longer."

From Rukia's hiding spot, the girl looked out in surprise at his request.

"I want... To become strong." Rito clutched his fist, "More. And more. And more. Strong enough to beat any Hollow. To save any target."

Turning, he shot a serious gaze in the direction he sensed the Shinigami's presence from.

"If I don't... Then I'll never be able to face Shota or Mr. Toyokawa again."

"—Rito...!" A soft smile crossed Rukia's features.

⦗ BGM END ⦘

⦓ THS #09 ⦔
❱ END ❰

⦏ Wooh! Got through the Grand Fisher! You've made it to the end of Chapter 9. As always, hope you enjoyed. ⦐
⦏ I wanted to take a small dig at the fact that Rito back in the day was always out of the house cuz his parents were never home. So, of course, as an extension of that, he would also have people he considered extended family. Also, I had him go ahead and defeat the Grand Fisher, since there was no major emotional conflict for him to stick around after this initial arc. ⦐
⦏ Next time, our group is introduced to a particular ghost girl. See you then! ⦐
⦏ Again, there's a poll up to decide Rito's theme song from the next arc onward! Currently votes are in favor of Inferno. We'll see when it comes to the end, though. ⦐
— Red