Yukio Hans Vorarlberna never was one for battle.
Unlike the other Fullbringers, he did not feel the need to get stronger and he could never understand why others felt the need to do so.
Power attracted power and the stronger one became in their world, the more attention you would draw to not only yourself but also your loved ones from those as strong or stronger than you were.
However, as he watched Chad and Kūgo moving through the air, he cursed his Fullbringer side for battle as excitement raced through his body from watching the two fighters clash.
Chad was just a new recruit that was brought in by Riruka a month ago and Yukio had expected him to be like the rest of them when they first learned of the spiritual side of the world and what it entails.
Boy, was he wrong and surprised when they all found out that the teen not only knew of it, but also of the fact that Chad showed a basic understand of how to manipulate his spiritual energy and how to sense it in the air.
Not just that, but they all were surprised when he showcased a basic understand of Fullbring during his first fight with Tsukishima, having used it at a level that anyone of them would consider adequate if it wasn't for the fact that Chad shouldn't have known how to use it.
Yukio knew that he shouldn't be jealous considering he was the one in the group that managed to figure out techniques faster than the rest of the group, but even he had his pride in being the prodigy of the group and for that to be taken away by the muscular teenager in front of him, it irked him slightly.
That was another thing that irked him about Chad as he was a 198cm tanned behemoth that also had the build of a Greek God and they all knew those muscles had some power behind them if Jackie's explanation of their first encounter was to believed.
'A blessed physique, tons of Reiryoku and a sharp mind to figure out techniques with just a few explanations. If I didn't know any better, I'd say the guy was blessed by the gods themselves to be this good.' Yukio thought with a smirk before snorting as he laid back down.
'Then again, he's beginning to love combat just as much as our resident battle maniacs Kūgo and Jackie so it's not like I want to keep up.' Yukio knew that with some intense training, he could reach the same heights as the strongest in the group, but he would have to stop playing games to do so.
Nope, he was just fine with his life as a weakling and besides, there was one nice benefit to being a weakling that he loved.
No one bothered him and he was free to do as he pleased.
'Yep, it's the life of the weakling for me.'
Chad was not usually one for battle.
He could still feel the teeth he had knocked out and the bones he had broken when he was younger and irrational before his Abuelo had come into his life and shown him that being a bully was a bad lifestyle.
Thus, he kept his emotions under control and made sure that his instincts did not take over.
However, there were times when he needed to just let his emotions run wild and right now, this was one of those times.
The air shifted as Chad sent his right fist flying forward, Kūgo grunting as he used the flat side of his blade to push the punch to the side before leaping back as an explosion erupted from Chad's elbow.
The force and heat of the explosion only slightly touched Kūgo before he was out of its reach, another explosion erupting from Chad's left side and sending him flying towards his fellow Fullbringer.
Spinning his blade into a backhanded grip, Kūgo leaned back as Chad tried to land a hook to his side, the teen grunting as Kūgo landed a kick to his abdomen before the Xcution leader's eyes widened as Chad grinned while gripping his foot tightly.
The next moment, he wheezed as an elbow was slammed into his chestand& sent him blasting towards the ground, Chad watching as Kūgo crashed through a skyscraper straight to the ground.
'Man, he's hard to hit.' Chad thought with a frown as he rolled his elbow, the slight spark of pain he felt from hitting Kūgo fading away while he waited for the Fullbringer to come back up.
Kūgo on the other hand looked pleased as he laid under the rubble of the skyscraper, his Bringer Light now shining a dull grey as he had shifted the air's composition around him to that of tungsten to better protect himself.
'Yep, Jackie was right. The guy hits like a truck.' Kūgo thought with a smirk as he took a deep breath before launching himself right through the rubble, Chad's eyes widening as Kūgo appeared in front of him with Cross pulled back as it was obscured with an ominous green glow.
"Raging Funnel!" Kūgo chanted as he swung his sword towards him and Chad condensed as much Reiryoku around his body as he can while also tensing his muscles right before a raging tornado slammed into him.
Even with him having done his best to defend from the attack, he could hear the soft pinging of his health dropping drown rapidly as hundreds of miniature air blades sliced away at his body, gritting his teeth before growling as he rocketed through it and towards a shocked Kūgo.
Before Kūgo could ready himself for Chad's attack, his eyes widened as the teen ducked under his slash while gripping him by the face, the teen roaring as his body overflowed with Reiryoku before chucking him to the ground as hard as he could.
Not letting him just fall to the ground this time, the air behind Chad solidified before he sent himself blasting downwards with an explosion that shook the air.
Kūgo frowned as he watched the missile that was the tall teen diving down towards him before smirking as he tilted and flipped his body backwards, Chad's lariat missing him before the teen coughed up spittle as Kūgo stomped him with a dropkick to the chest.
The force of the attack sent them flying in opposite directions, but Chad quickly shook off the pain and flipped over to his feet, spinning around while pulling his right fist back as his Reiryoku coursed through his right arm.
Seeing that Kūgo had the same idea as more and more energy rushed into the Cross of Scaffold as he raised the blade high, Chad smirked as Brazo Derecha de Gigante began to glow before he punched the air in front of him.
"Cañón Gigante." Chad chanted right before he let his spiritual energy flying, smiling proudly as the knuckles of his right fist glowed before a storm of Reiryoku rushed through the air.
Kūgo grinned as he watched the giant beam of energy raced towards him before he swung his sword at the last minute, Chad letting out a disappointed sigh as a tornado of equal size erupted from his blade and sent both attacks soaring up high into the sky.
As he looked back down at Kūgo, he wasn't surprised to see the man waiting for his next attack before Kūgo was surprised as Chad deactivated his ability and shook his head.
"I give."
"Wait, really? Just like that?" Kūgo asked before smiling sheepishly as Chad simply gestured to his health where a light red 18 on his HP bar, the Fullbringer leader looking at his own and humming at the yellow 71 back at him.
'Huh, not bad. That's pretty good considering how much I had in our first bout.' Kūgo thought with a smirk as the Cross of Scaffold transformed back into its necklace form, the Fullbringer putting back around his neck while Chad groaned as he stretched his shoulders and felt them give a satisfying pop.
"Hah, I thought I had you with that last one."
"It was a pretty strong attack, almost on the same level as a 5th Seat Shinigami I'd say." Kūgo spoke with a hum and Chad glanced at his STATUS screen in the corner of his eye before being disappointed as there was not a single change to it.
'I guess he wasn't actually trying to kill me, so it didn't count as a life or death battle.'
"So, you got anything else to do for the day?" Kūgo's words knocked Chad from his thinking and he tuned back in to see the man giving him a curious stare before shaking his head.
"Nothing much. I do have some homework, but I can finish that in half an hour."
"Cool! Yukio, you wanna send us all back?!" Kūgo shouted down to the boy and Chad readied himself as the world around them shattered, only shifting his feet slightly as he found himself standing in the middle of the bar.
A crash to his side however drew his attention and he smirked as he saw Kūgo lying over a bar stool while letting out a soft groan, Yukio smirking from where he was lying down on the sofa to the far right of them as Kūgo stood up whilst grumbling under his breath.
"Stupid brat with his stupid powers and his stupid pranks. Hah, anyway! Do you wanna hang out with us then? You're usually only here for training and then you leave."
"I'm…not…" Chad trailed off as he thought back before blinking as he realized that Kūgo was indeed telling the truth and giving a slow nod as Kūgo gave a smug grin.
"…Okay, what do you guys usually do?"
"Oh, let me show you." Kūgo said with a mischievous grin and as Chad watched the man walk around the bar only to stand up with a can of glue and a bag that had glittering feathers, he sighed as Kūgo gave a sly cackle while gesturing for him to bring one of the chairs closer.
'Hah, maybe I should have just left.'
The next day as Chad caught sight of his best friend Ichigo walking towards him, he was surprised to see him…smiling?
'Wait, is that Ichigo?' Chad thought with a frown as he activated Spiritual Sense before raising an eyebrow as Ichigo's name looked back at him, now even more confused as his orange-haired companion gave him a wave and a nod.
"Hey, Chad. How's your morning been?"
"Not as good as yours, I see. Did something happen?" Chad asked and blinked as his friend gave a soft smile & looked up to the sky.
"Yeah, I found some well-needed clarity when we visited Mom yesterday." The way he said it made Chad's eyes widen as he remembered that yesterday was the day Ichigo lost his mom before giving a soft smile as he rubbed his Abuelo's coin around his neck.
"I see. Well, I'm glad to hear it."
"So am I, man. The air feels good, my mind is at ease and oh, look~ Some punching bags have arrived." Ichigo said jovially and Chad smirked as the happy tone in Ichigo's voice bewildered and unnerved the several dozen thugs that had walked out from the alleyways around them.
"Is that so, Kurosaki? Well, then I wouldn't want to ruin your good mood if you just hand over the cash." The thug at the front said before he was confused as Chad simply looked amused at his demand while Ichigo chuckled as he put his school bag on the ground.
"Chad, since our last contest was a draw, the one to knock out the most gets free lunch from the other after school."
"Do broken bones count or just those that are knocked out?" Chad asked as he dropped his bag, Ichigo looking to be in thought as the casual conversation between the two made a few of the guys around them take a step back.
"Eh, considering they'll be out of the fight with broken limbs, I'd say it counts."
"Got it. Ready?" Chad asked as he began to bounce on the balls of his feet, the thugs now realizing their mistake as Ichigo smirked while stretching his arms behind him.
"Ready~~…Go!" With that shout, the leader of the thugs barely had any time to process Chad appearing in front of him in the blink of an eye before his vision went black as the teen landed a gut punch.
Chad watched as he fell to the ground before leaning out of the way as another tried to hit him with a metal pipe, catching it and pulling the thug closer before grabbing him by the arm.
Spinning rapidly, Chad quickly sent those close to him falling knocked out to the ground before he chucked the thug in his arm towards those rushing towards him, a smirk appearing on his face as he watched the group try to catch him only for them all to be sent rocketing backwards & into the others.
"You're lagging behind, bud! It's already 15 to 11!" Chad blinked as he heard Ichigo's voice before frowning as he watched his friend flip through the air with a spin to land a roundhouse to another thug.
"Make that 16!" Ichigo spoke with a grin and Chad frowned before smirking as he raised his fists, looking at the thugs that were slowly back-pedalling before they squealed and tried to run as the teen rushed towards him.
After all, he was not paying for Ichigo's lunch no matter what.
'Do they know each other?' The thought flashed through Chad's mind as he stood in the air, looking down to see Ichigo and Uryu from their class talking to each other while standing on the bank of the canal that flowed through Karakura.
Ichigo had asked him to follow him from afar because he had to meet someone and he just wanted an extra hand in case things went south, but he didn't quite expect it to be one of his classmates that Ichigo was meeting up with.
'Is he perhaps also a Shinigami like Rukia? No, if he was, he wouldn't want to meet Ichigo alone. Eh, maybe I'm overthinking this.' However, as the discussion went on, Chad frowned as he watched Ichigo take out a familiar candy dispenser before frowning as his friend separated from his body and let Kon run to safety with it.
The next moment, he was slightly confused as Uryu took out a small tablet before his eyes widened as a pleasant scent flew into his nostrils the moment the other teen broke it.
'Oh…man~ T-That…that smells…amazi-No!' Chad's danger senses blared as he quickly slapped himself, blinking a few times while taking deep breaths as he forced himself to ignore the scent that was now floating over the entirety of Karakura Town.
Whatever that thing was, it was a danger not only to him, but probably to any other Fullbringer in the town and he cursed as he dove down and landed next to Ichigo with a grunt.
"Sado Yasutora, another pain in my behind." Uryu spoke as the dust cleared to reveal Chad standing up from his knelt position, Chad simply staring at Uryu with a narrowed gaze before looking at Ichigo.
"What was that thing he just broke?"
"I don't know exactly, but I know it's some kind of Hollow Bait that will draw in Hollows from their world to ours for the next twenty four hours."
"Wait, doesn't that put everyone in Karakura in danger?!"
"I know! Tell this dipshit that and he'll just talk about how he's going to save everyo-Look out!" Ichigo exclaimed as he unsheathed his sword and cut the Hollow that had leapt down onto them from above, Chad simply letting his friend move as an orange aura covered his fist before he punched and incinerated the two Hollows that attacked from behind with an explosive punch.
'Activate Soul Purification and set it to Automatic.' That was a neat trick that Chad figured out as he could set some of his things to Automatic just like he could with Spiritual Sense and the teen nodded as he heard the affirmative ding in the back of his mind before turning to glare at Uryu.
A bit confused and cautious of the glowing blue bow the teen had in his hands, Chad frowned as he went to speak before cursing as even more Hollows began to crawl from the gaping voids they carved into the very air around them.
However, as he went to attack, his eyes widened as he felt three powerful presences appearing near Riruka and his friends Gitano and Harutoki.
Knowing that Riruka could take care of herself, he quickly turned to Ichigo and spoke.
"Ichigo! I just felt two strong ones appearing near Gita and Haru!"
"Those two goofballs?! Damnit, go! I'll manage on my own! Kon, go hide!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!" Kon exclaimed as he rushed off and Chad gave his friend a nod before leaping through the sky, the air under his feet solidifying into an ice-like form as he skated through it and towards where he could feel the two Hollow Reiryoku slowly walking towards his friend.
Within a minute, Chad frowned as he caught sight of his two friends, but he was more concerned at the two Hollows that were slowly prowling closer towards them.
One was a large bipedal Hollow with an extremely muscular body with a dull grey grin and dark S-shape markings running from its shoulders to the middle of its back, its arms noticeably bulging as they went down from its shoulders and ending in cube-shaped fists as big as its mask.
The second was the stronger of the two as it took the form of a large, bulbous orangutan, its fur a dark brown with streaks of red and orange running along its back and its face covered by a ape-like mask with mandibles sprouting from the side of its mouth.
Right in front of the two were Gitana and Harutoki as they were busy walking away, but just as the bipedal Hollow went to attack, it stopped as it felt a large burst of Reiatsu above them.
Both Hollows looked up before salivating at the sight of Chad's Reiryoku radiating through the air, the teen in question dropping rapidly to the ground before grunting as he landed on the rooftop behind them with a grunt.
"Come." That was all Chad said as he leapt down from the rooftop before turning and running away down the road, a smirk appearing on his face as he felt the two Hollows charging right after him & ignoring everyone else around them.
'Step one: Complete. Now…what the hell is step two?'
A/N: And the next arc begins as we also meet Uryu!
Next chapter: Battling Two Titans!
As you noticed, Bulbous G is a bit too weak to face Chad on its own as the teen is now so I decided that adding another would be good and don't worry as this other Hollow is supposed to be made into an Arrancer in the original canon story.
Also, this is an early upload because I am going to a birthday party later in the day and will probably be back only tomorrow morning so I wanted to make sure I post this before that happens.
Like always, you can go to my Pat-reon-.-com-/-KingCrimsonNova to read ahead on this as well as many other stories & even some that haven't been released out to this site yet. If you want to, you are free to, but if you don't want, all's good as I will still be uploading here. This is just me trying to get some extra cash.
As always, read, enjoy, review and until next week...
Ba-Bye~!