Chapter 6: Three Paths
Kurosaki Clinic
Karin wakes up, thankful that it was the weekend, as last night's events were like a rollercoaster that kept her up well past any reasonable curfew. She checks the time and confirms that she had slept in and would have been a couple of hours late for school. Looking over, she sees Yuzu also sleeping soundly on her bed.
"Don't you worry, Yuzu… Dad and I will make sure Ichigo and Mom rest peacefully by taking out that Hollow! Just sit tight and wait for us!"
Karin exits her room but is greeted by a voice that almost gives her a heart attack, "I see you're awake. I'll help explain the situation to your sister once she gets up, so I suggest you pack your bags now."
Karin jerks around to see Rukia Kuchiki in a Gigai, dressed in a black business suit, standing nonchalantly outside her room, leaning against the wall. Further, the girl can see that Rukia also has a long, slim object wrapped in a black cloth and tied together at both ends with a white rope slung over her shoulder.
Karin looks the woman over, "You're the girl from last night… Where is my dad?"
Rukia bows, "I am Rukia Kuchiki, of the 13th Division of the Gotei 13. Your father is currently on patrol alongside my captain. He requested that I oversee your special training, which the Soul Society approved."
Karin doesn't know what to say, so looks Rukia up and down, creating some kind of awkward tension between the two.
A few moments later, Yuzu comes out of the room, rubbing her eyes sleepily, "Karin? I heard noises… Who are you talking to?"
The girl stops dead in her tracks in the doorway, finding her answer as she sees Rukia leaning against the wall.
Rukia explains, "Your father is away on business. I am here to take Karin away for a foreign exchange program that she got accepted into recently."
Yuzu blinks before she pretends to buy the lie, wearing a fake smile, "Oh! That sounds interesting!"
Rukia further explains, "Your father said a family friend called last night about taking care of you… Ishida, I believe? He said he'll arrive at the clinic later today to check in on you."
Yuzu nods, fully accepting Ryuken as a member of the family at this point, "I wish you the best of luck in your exchange program, Karin! I hope you make lots of friends!"
She gives her sister a hug of farewell, truthfully not knowing how long it will be until she sees her again, which Karin returns with equal amounts of affection. Upon the twins breaking their embrace, Karin follows Rukia, who is now carrying a pair of luggage bags, down the stairs toward the exit. Yuzu meanwhile frowns slightly as her expression drops slightly, both hurt and disappointed that her twin continues to hide the truth from her.
After Rukia and Karin leave the Kurosaki Clinic, Rukia asks, "Are you completely sure about this? This is likely the last chance you'll get to back out."
"If I wasn't sure, then I wouldn't have agreed to it.", is all that Karin states.
Rukia gives a slight nod and the two make their way to Urahara's shop to start the girl's training.
Karakura Town
It is a sunny day in Karakura Town as two foreign, young-looking women waltz down the streets, earning many lustful gazes from passing men. If not for the clothes they wear, one may think the two to be delinquent teenagers skipping school based on their facial features. One of them is Candice Catnipp, wearing a red tank top and blue jean short shorts, as if the legs of the jeans were cut off. She no longer wears the signature Sternritter hat and has traded her knee-high white boots for black hiking boots that go up just past her ankles.
Accompanying her is a slightly shorter woman with long, black hair and purple eyes, which look out from behind a pair of square glasses with a pink frame. She wears a black button-up jacket with a white dress shirt underneath. She also wears a black miniskirt, fastened with a white belt with a heart-shaped belt buckle, and knee-high black boots with stockings that go all the way past her upper thigh.
A shady-looking guy suddenly walks up to the pair of women, "Would you couple of lovely girls like to have some fun tonight at the club with me and the boys?"
Candice addresses the guy, "You aren't really my type… but I'll still take you up on your offer if handsome men and alcohol are involved!"
The man smirks and looks at the shorter woman, "What about you, baby?"
The woman holds up a hand as if to object, wearing a disinterested expression, "That stuff isn't my thing. I'm only in this shabby town for business."
The woman shoots a serious look at her companion, reminding her of their true reasons for being here.
The creep then comes up to her and puts an unwelcome hand around her back, before saying, "Ah c'mon… It's a good way to blow off steam and relieve stress!"
His hand then slides further down her back.
The bespectacled woman glares at him, "I'm not interested. This is your final warning…"
The man smirks, "You're so cold! I like that in a woman!"
The man then proceeds to grab her ass. Candice sighs as her companion quickly grabs the man's hand in a vice grip, causing him to wail in pain.
Bambietta growls, "You're lucky we're not in the Wandenreich, or your whole body would look like this."
"Huh?! Like what?", the man questions.
She lets go of his hand, and the man screams as most of his hand simply is not there anymore and sees ashes dropping from the girl's gloved hands, "You two are freaks! I'm out of here!", the man screams, running away for his life.
Candice berates her companion, "Really Bambi?! I thought you said you wouldn't do that while we were here! Not to mention, I might've had something going there! His friends could've been hot!"
Bambietta snaps, "Quit whining. You would've wasted too much time in that club, having fun with the slew of men that are surely in there. I swear, this is why Gigi calls you a slut."
Candice counters, "Well at least I'm making use of the men I sleep with! The ones you sleep with all blow the fuck up! That is assuming you even sleep with them, to begin with…"
The black-haired woman clarifies, raising a finger, "Hey, I only blow up the ones who waste my time! Besides which, I do make use of them. As that creep mentioned, they are the perfect stress relief after a bad day. You should try it sometime, maybe that would land you in better graces with His Majesty."
Candice is quiet for a moment, "Don't even joke about that… girl, I'm dead if we don't find Yuzu Kurosaki by the end of the day…"
Bambietta hums, tapping her foot a bit impatiently on the ground, "And great progress we're making with that… We don't even know where she lives, and you want to party it up with some random loser you met on the street? Pathetic."
The lime blonde considers what her companion said for a moment, before letting out a sigh, "You're right. My judgment has not exactly been sound since we arrived, but how can you blame me? I just had that stressful life-or-death experience with His Majesty!"
The other woman looks off in the distance with a serious expression, "You must do whatever it takes to survive… That's what life is; if you can survive longer than anyone else, you win. I think you should take death more seriously, Candice…"
Candice nods hesitantly, feeling a bit more focused despite her companion's rather grim and nihilistic advice.
Bambietta then shifts to a much more jovial expression, marching off, "Let's get back to work, shall we? I'm excited to meet this 'Yuzu'!"
This prompts Candice to nod wordlessly as she follows her companion, continuing the search for the girl in question.
Urahara Shōten
Karin and Rukia enter Urahara's Shop, finding it mostly empty save for Tessai working on paperwork near the front.
"He's waiting for you in the basement.", is all the man says before returning to his work.
The pair walk through the shop, finding their way to a flight of stairs leading down to the basement. Karin is surprised to find a massive rocky landscape with a blue sky overhead as they enter the so-called 'basement'.
"WOAH?! WHAT IS THIS PLACE? INCREDIBLE! THIS HUGE, CAVERNOUS CHAMBER IS RIGHT UNDER MY STORE!" Urahara yells dramatically from behind Rukia, causing the girl to flinch and immediately turn around and punch the man in the face.
"Ow… that hurt…", he whines, rubbing his face.
"Well, that's what you get for sneaking up behind someone and shouting like that!", Rukia growls, immensely irritated.
As the Shinigami continues to yell at Urahara, Karin looks off in the distance and sees Tatsuki and Orihime struggling to fight against what looks like a couple of kids her age.
The girl wears a shocked expression, "Those kids have got to be tough. I heard that Tatsuki was a karate prodigy…"
Urahara walks up next to the girl, clarifying, "Well, my Ururu and Jinta are no slouches. I trained them myself. And you will be fighting one of them."
The young girl looks up at the blonde man as if he is mad, "ME?! What can I do against kids who a badass, karate-master high schooler struggles against?!"
Urahara waves his hand carelessly as he smiles, "I wouldn't worry about it, Miss Kurosaki. You'll do great! …I think…"
Rukia deadpans at that last part, looking at the man speechlessly with skepticism. After another moment, Orihime and Tatsuki suddenly pause as they finally notice Karin and Rukia and run over to greet them. The children follow, noticing Urahara standing with the duo.
Orihime is the first to speak to the girl, smiling brightly, "Karin! Are you doing okay?"
Karin nods slowly, the girl's energy reminding her of her twin.
Tatsuki follows up with a curious gaze, "What are you doing here, Karin?"
The girl starts to explain, "Well, the thing is…"
A Few Minutes Later
"…so that's why I've decided to become a Shinigami.", Karin concludes her explanation.
Tatsuki, wearing a face that relays disapproval, sighs, "If that is what both you and your dad want, then I'll have to respect it. But I'll watch your back next time you come to the living world! I'll have powers of my own by then!"
Orihime seconds that notion energetically, "That's right! And I'll be here to help you too!"
The black-haired girl widens her eyes at the older girls' support, "I… thanks."
Tatsuki scoffs, looking away, "It's the least we could do. Don't worry about it."
Urahara slides in behind the two girls, "You two have been at it all day—you know, it's time for a rest. You ought to be starving now."
Orihime's eyes widen as she grabs her stomach in pain.
The karate girl sighs, "You're right about that… c'mon Orihime, let's go get lunch."
The auburn-haired girl waves to Karin as she walks off with Tatsuki, "Good luck with your training, Karin! We'll be rooting for you!"
After the girls leave, Karin notes Rukia remover the rope and cloth from the object she was carrying, revealing an extremely bland-looking katana. The young girl scrunches her brows, somewhat confused at the sight before her eyes widen slightly, feeling something faint from the blade, as if a sixth sense.
Urahara notes this and elaborates, "It seems you've noticed that blade is not as ordinary as it seems… it is what we Shinigami refer to as an Asauchi. Every Shinigami is given one of these blades when they join the Gotei 13, if they don't already have one. A piece of the Shinigami's soul merges with the Asauchi resulting in the birth of their Zanpakutō. This one, which the Soul Society so graciously provided, will act as yours."
The black-haired girl blinks as she processes what the man said.
The shopkeeper then waves his hand carelessly as he explains, "The end goal of your training is for you to make contact with your Zanpakutō. For that to happen, you must first go through some preliminary training. We shall begin now, Miss Kurosaki."
The girl flinches as the shopkeeper suddenly shoves his cane at her, which separates her spirit from her body, causing it to go limp before falling to the ground.
"W-WHAT THE HELL?!", Karin grimaces.
Urahara elaborates, "I've separated your soul from your body. We'll need to get you used to existing in spirit form before you have so much as a hope of becoming a Shinigami."
Karin looks in horror at her physical body lying limp on the ground in front of her, not yet registering the man's words.
The shopkeeper notices the look, prompting him to prolong his pause slightly before explaining further, "I'll preserve your physical body and make modifications to change it into a Gigai, a physical body that a Shinigami uses in the living world. It will age with you while you are in the Soul Society… assuming you can pass my lessons."
The girl manages to pull herself to her feet with some difficulty, "I can do it. I'll pass as many of your lessons as I have to!"
"That's the spirit…", Urahara responds with a somewhat sinister look before continuing, "In that case, Ururu here will test how well you can move in your Konpaku (aka Spirit) body. Hitting her is your first lesson."
Karin glances over to the person the man gestured to, finding the twin-tailed little girl who was fighting Tatsuki earlier, wearing a rather plain outfit.
The girl bows, "Hi… it's a pleasure to train with you."
Rukia raises a brow, wearing a face of pure disgust, "Is this how you get your sick kicks? Having little girls hit each other?"
Urahara looks back at the Shinigami, "Oh I forgot you were here, Ms. Kuchiki! Do you want to get involved? Y'know, seeing as you are quite little yousel—"
Rukia kicks the man in the face before he finishes his sentence, knocking him to the ground.
"Ow…", the man whines again as the raven-haired woman stands over him with her arms crossed.
Urahara then gets to his feet, addressing Karin once more, "In any case, you may notice Ururu is wearing protective headgear, here's some for you to put on too."
The man makes a motion with his hand, and a red-haired little boy tosses some headgear to the ground near Karin.
The boy carelessly regards the girl, "Good luck. You're gonna need it…"
"Now Jinta, you shouldn't make the girl feel like she doesn't have a chance of winning, because then she'll start believing she can't and at that point, she will lose...", Urahara explains in an oddly jovial voice.
The boy merely scoffs before walking off.
"I could hear that, you know…", Karin says with a deadpan.
The shopkeeper ignores her as Ururu appears right in front of the girl, readying to punch her. Karin widens her eyes as she barely manages to dodge, seeing the girls' punch cause a small crater in the ground. The Kurosaki girl's jaw drops as she barely manages to grab the headgear.
Rukia is also momentarily speechless, before turning a wrathful gaze to Urahara, "Stop this right now, Kisuke! SHE'LL KILL HER!"
The shopkeeper regards the Kuchiki with an icy glare, "If she can't even survive Ururu, there is no chance that Karin here will become a Shinigami. Isshin agreed to it, he can't blame me for what happens..."
Karin manages to tie the headband on as she does her best to run away from Ururu. She turns on her heel to face the incoming girl before dodging her attack again. That isn't all, however, as Karin weaves around the girl before performing a dropkick, sending Ururu crashing into a rock.
Karin turns around to face the shopkeeper, "All right. What's next—"
"LOOK OUT!", Rukia calls, as Ururu comes up from behind Karin to land a hit.
The Kurosaki is sent across the landscape, being caught by the raven-haired woman, who discarded the Asauchi and gets sent into a rock formation.
"Good job… lesson one is complete, Miss Kurosaki…", Urahara states as he is suddenly in front of Ururu, holding her arm back while simultaneously calming her down.
Rukia manages to get herself out of the rock formation as Karin rubs her back, which is now extremely sore.
The Kuchiki glares at the shopkeeper with disdain, "You're sick!"
Urahara places a fan in front of his face, "That is correct. But there's no place for morality here, Kuchiki. This is a place of battle. Hollows won't go easy on her, so I won't either."
Karin finds her bearings and stares into the shopkeeper's eyes, eager to move on, "What's the next lesson?"
Urahara closes his fan as Tessai walks up next to him, "You will need to technically die for this part of the training to start. If you're unsure at all if you want to go through with this, back out now. After what comes next, there are absolutely no takebacks."
Karin widens her eyes as she flinches, "D-die…?"
Urahara nods, which makes the girl begin to doubt her desire to become a Shinigami. However, as her thoughts become focused, she considers the way her brother was mutilated and dragged away by that Hollow while she was completely helpless to stop it.
Karin's mouth contorts to a frown as her convictions are bolstered, prompting her to declare, "I won't back down."
The shopkeeper looks at Rukia, who nods, wearing a solemn expression. The raven-haired woman unsheathes her blade and cuts Karin's soul chain with a single stroke. This causes the girl to fall to her knees, despite feeling relatively negligible amounts of pain.
Before anyone can react, Urahara seemingly summons a deep pit, which he suddenly throws Karin in. On the way down, her arms become bound by some weird type of spiritual magic.
Karin begins to panic as she hits the bottom of the pit, seeing the severed chain begin to eat itself, "WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?!"
Urahara wastes no time as he explains from the top of the pit, "You must awaken your Shinigami powers before the encroachment of Hollowfication. If you don't, then you will become a Hollow and Rukia here will have to perform a Konsō."
"BUT HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THAT?!", Karin demands, still freaking out.
The shopkeeper elaborates coldly, "You must climb out of that hole. The only way to do that is to become a Shinigami, or else become a Hollow. You have about 72 hours to do this… good luck, Miss Kurosaki…"
Urahara then exits from Karin's view, causing the girl to shift her gaze to Rukia, pleading for help.
The Shinigami finds herself unable to fully match the girl's gaze, "Focus on your inner spirit energy. That is the fastest way to make contact with your Zanpakutō. Good luck, Karin."
Before the Kurosaki can respond, the raven-haired woman leaves her field of vision as well.
The girl releases a low growl of annoyance before flinching at the shopkeeper calling down at her again, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. You'll probably want this down there with you to help awaken your Zanpakutō~."
Karin looks up with a raised brow before her eyes widen in horror at a katana is thrown down at her. The girl manages to roll her body, narrowly avoiding being skewered as the katana is planted into the ground.
Her eyes briefly stare in horror at the katana, the Asauchi, before directing her gaze to the top of the pit and hisses lowly as no one can be seen, "Is that asshole trying to kill me?!"
Meanwhile, as Rukia, Urahara, and Tessai sit a distance away from the hole, Urahara remarks, "Miss Kurosaki should be able to figure this out without any issues. She'll likely be placed in first class at the academy given her Shiba heritage as well."
Rukia glares at the shopkeeper, "Your statement better be true, or else those two girls staying with you may just skin you alive…"
Hueco Mundo
"They've been at it for hours…" Shawlong Koufang, a tall, slim Adjucha following the panther Hollow states.
Another, much burlier Adjucha, Edrad Liones, cuts in, amused, "It's been a hell of a fight, too."
Di Roy Rinker, a serpentine Adjucha with more bark than bite, adds his opinion, "Grimmjow should have won already… We should be feasting on that guy's flesh by now!"
This prompts another member of the group, a bull Adjucha named Yylfordt Granz, to bark at Di Roy, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! Grimmjow's kill, Grimmjow's feast. Seriously, brother, get real!"
This causes the other three to nod in agreement as the fifth Adjucha, Nakeem Grindina, who admittedly looks like a mini-Gillian, watches the battle quietly.
The panther Adjucha, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, is breathing quite heavily before yet again pouncing towards White, dragging his claws along the side of the dragon's hide. However, White uses this as an opportunity to flex his wings, sending Grimmjow flying up into the air. White takes off after the mid-air panther, but the panther maneuvers his body such that his mouth is facing towards the dragon and launches a Cero directly at it, point blank. White tanks this, however, using the momentum his wings gave him to crash into Grimmjow, sending him even higher into the sky before both come crashing down from exhaustion. The two each struggle as they get up off the ground.
"Hey…", Grimmjow says between breaths, "What did you say your name was?"
White, for once, answers a being he considered prey, "White… And you?"
The panther sneers, "Grimmjow… You should know the name of the one who will take you down!"
"As if," White replies, a red glow enveloping his body as he charges a massive red Cero like the one deflected by Ukitake in Karakura Town.
"GET DOWN!", Shawlong shouts, realizing this Cero has enough power to blow up a city.
Grimmjow tilts his head back, calling out to his followers, "COWARDS!"
The panther then blasts Cero of his own at White's, dampening the blast as he charges through it, using his speed to once again get in close with the dragon. This proves to be a mistake, however, as White has been observing Grimmjow's attack patterns since the start of the fight, allowing him to pull off the correct timing to catch the panther in between his horns and fire off one final Cero at point blank range at the smaller Adjucha. This sends Grimmjow spiraling to the ground, a smoldering mess. White still senses he isn't done though, so before the panther can get back up, the dragon places a clawed paw on him.
Grimmjow writhes around, trying to get out of the dragon's grasp, "I'LL TEAR YOU APART!"
White removes his paw, prompting the panther to become momentarily confused before screaming at the other Hollow, "HOW DARE YOU LOOK DOWN ON ME! KILL ME! I DON'T WANT YOUR PITY!"
The dragon exhales slowly as if sighing, before he explains, "You don't have my pity—you have my respect, Grimmjow. You are the first Hollow I encountered that I could not kill easily. I don't know why, but it feels like a waste to kill you now."
Grimmjow is about to continue his tirade but stops himself suddenly as he looks over to see a group of Adjuchas approaching, led by... "BARRAGAN?! I thought he stayed cooped up in Las Noches!"
The panther urgently starts to leave before regarding White once more, "You can stay and face Barragan if you want, but know that if you do, this will be the last time we see each other. If you die here, just remember you've been warned."
As Grimmjow's pack leaves, White briefly mulls over his options before inevitably deciding to stay and see what exactly all the hype is around this Barragan character. As the Adjuchas draw near, a skeletal figure wielding a large black axe, garbed in blackened purple robes and wearing a golden crown, raises its hand, causing the group to stop. The ancient skeletal Vasto Lorde approaches White, addressing him in perhaps the most arrogant tone the young Hollow has ever heard.
"You weak Adjuchas dare to squabble for territory under my gaze? How presumptuous… Perhaps you all have forgotten, but before the Shinigami came, all of Hueco Mundo was my domain! I will make an example of you."
White growls with not but contempt for this self-proclaimed Hollow King that stands before him, "I'd like to see you try, tiny!"
This prompts one of the Adjuchas to step forward and talk trash to White on Barragan's behalf, "YOU DARE?! Ignorant fool, Lord Barragan ranks 2nd among the Espada and he isn't even an Arrancar ye-"
The loudmouth Hollow is suddenly cut off as Barragan launches a blast of some weird miasma at him, which starts to reduce the Adjucha to nothing.
"Lord Barragan, why…?", it questions with its dying breath as its ashes are sent into the wind.
"I AM THE STRONGEST ESPADA!", Barragan roars, "They are all subservient to me, for my powers are absolute! Nothing can withstand the erosion of time! That bumbling brute is NOTHING compared to me!"
White sees the complete disregard towards his companion and for some reason is absolutely livid.
"You…", White lets out almost a whisper, which catches the attention of Barragan, "HOW CAN YOU DO THAT TO YOUR FRIEND?!"
White roars as intense red energy envelopes his body, feeling nothing but rage in this moment.
Barragan chuckles slightly as he clarifies, "Fool. That fodder was not my friend! I was merely making an example out of him, just like what I'll do with you..."
Before the skeletal Hollow can react, White has rushed towards him, grabbing him with his claw. His black claws dig deeply into Barragan's purple cloak as he takes off flying high into the sky. Once White has flown up a sufficient distance, he violently tosses Barragan to the ground so fast he's barely visible to the naked eye, causing a giant crater to form in the area where he was thrown. White's onslaught is not done yet, however, as he launches Cero after Cero at the ground where he threw the king. This causes even Barragan's Adjucha followers to look on nervously, wondering if their king is alright. Once the dust settles, White is on the ground, as he no longer has the energy to keep himself airborne anymore. However, Barragan's giant black axe comes flying through the dust, striking the dragon on the chest and causing him to yelp in pain.
Barragan comes out of the dust, hardly damaged, chuckling, "You are one of the strongest Adjuchas I've fought in a long time. I must commend you for your strength. However, it will not be enough…"
The Hollow King disappears before reappearing with a buzz right in front of the dragon, grabbing the axe and chanting a command, "Respira!"
With this single word, White is made to scream in pain the likes of which he could never have imagined previously. His body starts to spasm as it deteriorates from the inside out.
The dragon's survival instincts completely take over now, as White grabs Barragan with both of his clawed hands and forces him back with a strength that is beyond anything that he would otherwise be able to use. Barragan resists, however, standing his ground. In reaction, White opens his mouth before unleashing an instinctual torrent of intense black and red flames, which serve to send the king back, disoriented at this. This enables White to fly off before the king can notice, allowing him to somehow escape with his life, at least for now.
Barragan stands, stunned, "What was that last attack…? That was no Cero…"
The Hollow King notices the look his followers are giving him, prompting him to sigh, "I suppose I'll have to continue this fight another day. But I gotta say, it's nice to flex my authority now that that fool Aizen is out of my way!"
Barragan then goes off in some other direction with his Adjucha followers to kill some other poor Hollows for sport.
After creating sufficient distance from the king, White lands near a cave, taking refuge in it to lick his wounds. He can feel his remaining spiritual energy struggling to keep the wound closed, as the Respira is continuously deteriorating his body.
"Guess I'll just have to lay low for a while to build my energy back up to hunt again… I need to become a Vasto Lorde soon and put that asshole in his place!", the dragon thinks to himself as he drifts into slumber.
Kurosaki Clinic
Yuzu hums lightly as she cooks lunch at the Kurosaki Clinic, waiting for Ryuken to come pick her up for the day.
"I wonder what type of food Uncle likes. Will I get to spend time with cousin Uryu?", such thoughts flow through the young girl's head before she hears a knock on the door.
She perks up and shouts in mild excitement, "I'll be right there!"
Yuzu turns down the heat on the stove and walks to the front entrance, expecting to find Ryuken on the other side of the door. She's surprised to find that's not the case as she instead finds a man with black slicked-back hair and a black jacket carrying her brother's friend Chad on his shoulder and a caged cockatiel in his other hand.
"You can take care of this guy, right?", the man asks with a friendly smile.
Yuzu nods with widened, urgent eyes, "Lay him on his stomach on one of the beds in the medical room."
The girl guides the man through the clinic to the room in question as she puts her medical equipment on, gaining the appearance of a nurse.
After Chad sits upright on one of the tables, the girl wastes no time in removing his shirt.
Her eyes narrow slightly before sending the stranger a pleading yet apologetic look, "I'm sorry, but I'll need you to help balance him. We're currently low on staff."
The man nods before doing as instructed, allowing Yuzu to take properly analyze the wound on Chad's back. The girl gasps as she acknowledges the giant bruise in the shape of a handprint on his back, and some blood leaking out in portions. She also finds that he was hit on the head in some places.
Yuzu bows apologetically, "Please wait here, sir. I'll need to get wrap and gauze from the cabinet in the room over."
As the girl leaves the room, Chad begins to wake up, almost immediately regarding the man who came to his rescue, "Who… are you…?"
The man smirks before asking a question of his own, "Would you like to become strong and protect this cockatiel from the monster that's been following it?"
Chad's eyes widen before he nods, "Yeah… That'd be nice… but how-?"
The man doesn't answer Chad's question, as he regards Yuzu who comes back into the room.
Chad's eyes widen in recognition of the girl, "Strawberry's sister?"
The young blonde sighs, "Please don't call him that, Mister…?"
"Chad.", the giant boy answers.
The girl nods, huffing in annoyance at her brother's hurtful nickname, "Well please don't call him that. And by the way, you can call me Yuzu."
The boy nods wordlessly, prompting the girl to start treating him.
As Yuzu is treating Chad, she can't help but shake the feelings of dread she gets from the cockatiel. Furthermore, the man gives her a look and stares at the pendant around her wrist, causing her to become even more uncomfortable.
After a while of this, Yuzu can't take anymore, "Parden me, but why are you staring at my bracelet?"
The man responds, with an amused expression, "It looks pretty."
Yuzu suddenly becomes defensive, wearing a pouting expression, "This belonged to my mother—you can't have it!"
The man waves his hands defensively, clarifying his intentions, "Calm down. I was just offering you a compliment. My name is Kugo Ginjo, by the way."
Yuzu becomes less defensive at this, now wearing a smile, "Oh… ok… thanks Mr. Ginjo!"
The man smiles back jovially, "Please, just Ginjo is fine!"
Suddenly, Ginjo drops the jovial attitude, now wearing a serious expression, "Would you be interested in helping this young man and I with destroying a Hollow following this cockatiel?"
Yuzu's eyes widen, "How do you know about Hollows?! Do you know them too, Chad?"
Chad shakes his head, "I'm afraid I don't."
Ginjo regards the girl with a slightly less serious expression, "Please calm down, Miss Kurosaki. I can help both you and Chad develop a power that my people like to call 'Fullbring'."
The man then hands Yuzu and Chad cards that read 'Xcution' on them, next to a set of numbers.
Ginjo elaborates, "Those are numbers to call in case you need directions to our hideouts… If you follow me now, we can start training right away."
Yuzu speaks up, her curiosity and relative loneliness in the absence of her family getting the better of her in the moment, "Hold on. I need to let my family know first!"
The girl goes into the other room, before writing a letter addressed to Ryuken and posting it on the front door for her uncle to find when he does drop by. She also makes sure to place the food she was cooking in the fridge after turning the stove off.
"I hope Uncle understands. If I can get stronger now, the wait to start my Quincy training won't be as painful and I can start protecting myself earlier."
With these thoughts, Yuzu leaves the clinic, donning Candice's cape, which earns her a questioning look from Ginjo.
Yuzu explains with great enthusiasm, "It makes me feel like a superhero!"
The blonde girl then performs the signature Don Kanoji laugh, "Bohahaha!", as she crosses her arms over her chest with her hands on her shoulders.
Ginjo chuckles and even Chad, now carrying the cockatiel, can't help but crack a smirk at this, as the three of them make their way down the road towards the Xcution hideout.
Author's Note:
This marks the end of the "Pilot Chapters" for this Fanfiction.
Ichigo's Nickname
Anime-only fans may be confused why Chad refers to Ichigo as 'Strawberry' here. Early on in the manga, specifically the VIZ translation in case other versions are different, it is shown that all of Ichigo's male friends call him 'Strawberry'. I found this quite alarming at first, as it would seem like a dick move for his friends to call him a negative nickname like that… after some thought, I considered that Ichigo has simply had the nickname for so long, that all his classmates besides those who've known him for a long time, like Tatsuki (and by extension Orihime, Tatsuki's bestie), call him by his real name. Ichigo being himself probably wouldn't bother correcting people about the negative nickname as he's had it for so long, but I obviously can't say for sure—I'm not Tite Kubo.
Fullbringers
As for why I'm bringing the Fullbringers into the fic so early… there is a great deal of lore about the Fullbringers revealed in the CFYOW light novels, including Ginjo's backstory and true motivations. Ginjo is quite an awesome character, in my opinion, after having read the light novels, as he well and truly is a dark version of Ichigo in that he was betrayed by the Soul Society. Based on that, I interpret Ginjo going after Ichigo's power as him trying to bolster Xcution's fighting power so that they have a fighting chance against the Shinigami, who from his point of view are the vilest individuals to ever exist. I won't go into too much detail for those who haven't read the Light Novels but would like to, just know that the fic from this point forward will contain massive spoilers/reveals from CFYOW and SAFWY, as well as elements from TYBW, of course.
As for why Ginjo would know Yuzu and/or Chad have Fullbring potential this early… well, he bumped into each of them, and I am acting under the assumption that he can feel dormant Reiatsu within individuals, kind of like when Urahara bumped into Masaki. Beyond that reasoning, I honestly don't feel it matters; if you want to nitpick, fine, but I'm not too worried about it.
Finally, I would like to thank my readers for any positive or constructive feedback. Positive reviews really motivate me to continue writing, while constructive criticism keeps me on my toes. I will ask, however, for you all to keep the reviews less critical moving forward, as I am moving this story further and further away from canon over the next several chapters. Furthermore, I will divert greatly from the original White fanfiction in terms of Yuzu and Karin… but as for White/Ichigo, I plan on having him and Hueco Mundo in general end up in a similar situation as 'White', but plan on focusing more on his individual character/development compared to the original.
That said, I am still open to 'concrits' if there is just something so egregious about what I put out that you feel it can't be ignored. I will ignore any reviews that say you don't like something but do not elaborate. If you don't like my story, DON'T READ IT.
With that, I've got some interesting reworks planned for the next few chapters.