"Do you have any idea how stupid it was to try & take out Hollows this goddamn early in the morning?!" Rukia hissed as she pulled Ichigo into an empty classroom, to which Ichigo simply rolled his eyes & crossed his arms.
"We were careful enough to make sure no one saw and there weren't even that many. Besides, Chad took out most of them and that's only because I think he can sense them."
"That's the problem, Ichigo. You don't think your friend suddenly getting all these spiritual powers isn't even slightly suspicious?" Rukia asked, sighing as Ichigo snorted & shook his head.
"No, because I trust Chad. When things get tough, I know he has my back and he knows that I have his. He wouldn't try & attack me or anyone here just because he got new powers."
"Hah, I hope so. So, how strong was he?" She asked as she sat down on a desk, frowning as Ichigo smirked and nodded.
"Stronger than I imagined. I'd say almost on the same level I was when I first got your powers."
"That's…really strong, Ichigo. You were abnormally strong for a human that just got Shinigami powers and you're telling me that there's another human that's just as strong without them?" Rukia asked with a frown and Ichigo blinked before frowning slightly.
"That…is true. There was something else, though."
"What?"
"When we were hunting Hollows, I couldn't help but notice that he wasn't just defeating them like I was. Every time he beat one, it felt as if he was…purifying them because the malice in their reiryoku disappeared the moment they died."
"…That's impossible. Humans don't have the ability to purify Hollow souls like Shinigami do. You must have been imagining stuff." Rukia spoke with a dismissive wave of her hand, to which Ichigo hummed before nodding.
"Yeah, I probably was. Anyway, where were you this morning? You weren't in the closet when I checked."
"Out and about." Rukia spoke with a cryptic smirk as she hopped off of the desk and walked out, giggling as Ichigo simply gave her a deadpan look while following after her.
"Sure, keep your secrets. So, are we hunting again tonight?" He asked and she looked to be in thought before nodding.
"Sure, and why not invite Chad over? Perhaps I can see how he purifies the 'Hollows' like you said." Rukia teased with a smirk and giggled as Ichigo grumbled while walking past her.
"Yeah, yeah. I said that I was unsure, didn't I?"
"Sure, you did~"
"…He's…he's actually purifying them." Rukia muttered in shock as she watched the purified soul disappearing, noting how Chad held his hand out & absorbed the Hollow Reiryoku that was left behind.
"Still think I'm lying?" Ichigo asked with a smug grin as he sat next to her, to which Rukia quickly snapped out of her shock & glared at him.
"It was reasonable of me to be doubtful when there has been no record of any human being capable of purifying Hollows without having become a Substitute Shinigami. Not to mention, your friend is fighting them while still in his human form & without becoming a spirit. That should not be possible."
"Hey, the impossible can become possible at any time. You have to keep an open mind." Ichigo spoke with a shrug as he stood besides her, chuckling as Rukia simply huffed before they turned as they heard footsteps walking closer.
"So, Chad. How exactly can you purify Hollow souls? As far as I know, there has not been a single human that has been able to do." Rukia said and Chad looked at them before giving a slight shrug.
"I absorb their Hollow energy and in doing so, free the soul from the negative energy that kept it from passing on."
'That's too simple of an answer. There has to be a more in detail explanation on just how he's capable of doing it.'
"Wait, that's it? I thought it would be something more complex." Ichigo spoke with a raised eyebrow and Rukia gave a mental cheer at her student's words as she watched Chad hum.
"Well, it is a lot more complicated than that. See, we all know that any being, whether mortal or spiritual, has this kind of energy inside of them. The more potent the energy is, the stronger they are. What I do is that when I defeat a Hollow, I am able to separate the two spiritual energies from each other, purifying the soul in the process while absorbing the Hollow's spiritual energy for myself."
"So that's how you got so powerful in such a short time. The more energy you absorb…"
"The stronger my body become." Chad finished Ichigo's statement with a nod, to which his friend looked impressed while Rukia was deep in thought.
'That…is quite possibly the most powerful ability I have heard of. If he's capable of doing that to regular Hollows, could he do the same for the Menos Grande? Wait, his ability…'
"You know, that sounds a lot like what Hollows do when they devour each other for power." Rukia spoke out loud and Chad blinked before giving a slow contemplative nod.
"Yes, I guess it is. Although, I don't have any voices shouting in my head to destroy everything so I guess it's not that bad."
"Oh, that was what I was worried about. Well, you satisfied with his explanation, Rukia?" Ichigo asked as they looked towards the short woman, who looked at Chad with a narrowed stare before smiling & nodding.
"From what I've seen, you seem to have changed slightly, but not enough to be a threat to anyone and while I would love to know just how you manage to get this power, I'm guessing that even you don't know."
"Just woke up with it." Chad agreed, to which Rukia smirked while Ichigo snorted.
"Yep, the story of our lives. Now then, Rukia & I'll be going on for some hunting if you want."
"Uh, not tonight. Got to sleep early because my body's still sore."
"Right, your personal training. Well, I'll see you tomorrow morning at our usual spot."
"Sure." Chad spoke with a nod as a light green glow covered his body, Rukia watching with a hum as Chad raced through the sky before turning to Ichigo as he stretched with a groan.
"Your friend has some secrets."
"He does, but so do I. We guys don't tell each other everything unless we really need to." Ichigo spoke with a shrug, smirking as Rukia rolled her eyes & leapt towards the next rooftop.
"Men. You never change."
Name: Rukia Kuchiki
Age: ?
Race: Shinigami
Reiryoku Levels: Great
'If there were numbers, it could have shown me where she stood compared to Tsukishima & Kūgo, but that would have just confused me more.' Chad thought with a slight frown as he ran through the sky, thankful for the fact that it was both a new moon & a cloudy night as no one would be able to see him racing through the air.
Compared to Ichigo, Rukia's Reiryoku looked like that of a child to an adult's, but then again, he hasn't found anyone that came even close to Ichigo's level so that was a bad comparison.
Compared to him, though, he was a bit cautious despite the fact that both of them were close to Ichigo seeing as he was still unsure about whether or not Fullbringers were actually enemies to Shinigami.
From the way that she reacted to his purification abilities, she didn't seem to know what a Fullbringer was, but she might have been younger than other Shinigami who probably did know what he was.
'Did I ever ask Kūgo if Xcution was the only Fullbringer group in the world? Hah, a topic for next time. Wait, while I'm thinking about that…' Chad trailed off as he landed on the rooftop of his apartment complex, walking to the edge while calling the number that he wanted.
Dropping from the ledge, Chad landed right outside his window with a grunt and was thankful for the fact that he kept his windows open since he lived on the fourth floor as he opened the window & climbed into his apartment.
"Hello, Riruka here~"
"Hello, Riruka. It's Chad." Chad began as he walked over to his fridge, holding a hand out to his windows & frowned in concentration before smirking as the opened one shut before all of them locked close.
"Oh, hey Chad. What's up? You know you can't come over since you're supposed to be resting." Riruka spoke with a stern tone, to which Chad chuckled as he opened his fridge & took out the one cider inside it.
"I'm at my apartment, but I wanted to know something."
"Sure, what did you wanna know?"
"I forgot to ask, but are there any other Fullbringers apart from Xcution?" He asked, taking a sip from the cider as he heard Riruka hum for a while before she answered.
"You know, I never asked Kūgo. Wait, I'll ask him. Kūgo! Chad wants to know if there are any other Fullbringers out there other than us!" Chad had a deadpan stare as he heard her shout echoing through the phone, waiting as there was silence for a moment before he blinked as a new voice spoke.
"Hey, Chad. It's Kūgo."
"Hey, I'm guessing you're not deaf right now."
"The phone is on speaker so she can hear you."
"AND I'M KICKING YOUR ASS FIRST THING TOMORROW MORNING!" Chad winced as his ears rang from the shout, holding the phone away for a few moments before slowly bringing it closer.
"Hahaha, that made you flinch away since you're not answering, didn't it?"
"It did. So, what did you ask?"
"I asked why did you want to know? It's not something you should be concerned about." Kūgo spoke with an amused tone, but Chad frowned as he noted the slight hesitance in the man's voice.
Well, that's a bit of a worry.
"I was just curious since you guys are the only ones I know of and with the way you spoke of Fullbringers, I thought that maybe someone taught you guys the same way that you all taught me."
"…Hmm, that is true. Well, there are other groups, but they prefer to be hidden away from the public eye as they'd like to live their lives out peacefully in some remote location."
"Oh, okay. Well, that's all I want to know."
"Wait, Chad. Before you go…" Kūgo's voice drew him back and he hummed as he answered.
"Yes?"
"You…haven't heard of a Bount, have you?"
"…A what?"
"Hah, forget what I said. Well, we'll be seeing you next week for your next training session." Kūgo greeted & hung up before Chad could ask what he meant, the teen frowning as he lowered his hand & stared at the device in his hand.
'A Bount? Is that supposed to be another term for Fullbringers? The way he said it, though, made it seems as if I wasn't supposed to know of it. Hah, I guess I'll ask him next week when I see them again.'
"Chad! Glad to see you again, my friend!" Kūgo exclaimed with a grin as he watched Chad walk through the door alongside, Chad simply nodding at the smiling man before frowning slightly as he looked around to see that Riruka was the only other person in the room.
"The rest are out on a supply run. We're getting low on food & drinks." Kūgo explained as Chad turned to look at him, to which the teen nodded before turning to Riruka.
"Am I going to train in your Dollhouse again?" He asked and she simply smirked while pointing at the waving Kūgo.
"Nope, the idiot over there wanted to try something different so we made that fishtank over there the new training place." Chad was surprised at that as he turned to look where she was pointing only to be greeted by an empty moderate-sized fishtank standing on a golden table.
"I permit you." He heard Riruka say before his world was dyed with a bright light once more, squinting his eyes this time and keeping his footing stable as he felt the spiritual energy around him warping before it calmed down.
Opening his eyes, he wasn't surprised to find himself standing on a massive sandy plateau, looking around to see the titanic glass walls that surrounded him on all sides as well as the bright light shining down on them like a sun.
"You know, every time I see Riruka's ability, I am always surprised by how powerful it is." Jackie spoke with a smirk as she came to a stop a few paces away from her, her smirk growing as Chad simply turned to face her with a slight frown.
"I see you wanna get payback for that kick, huh?" She asked with a smirk as she tapped her right foot onto the ground, watching as Chad simply raised his fists into a basic boxing stance.
"Nice. Well, come on then. Let's see what you go-!" She quickly moved her head out of the way as Chad attacked before she could finish her sentence, his jab sending out a slight shockwave that disturbed the sand behind her.
To her credit, wasn't simply dodging as Chad raised an arm to block the kick to his chest, wrapping an arm around her leg before raising his elbow & bringing it down.
However, he was surprised as he found his elbow impacting her leg before bouncing back just as fast, making him stumble while Jackie smirked as she used her captured leg as leverage & leapt onto the back of Chad's shoulders.
The teen quickly let go of the leg in his grasp and raised his arms above him just as Jackie rained down elbow after elbow onto him, gritting his teeth as each blow made his forearms burn before growling as he leapt into the air & fell back first onto the ground.
Letting out a soft grunt, he heard Jackie wheeze & quickly rolled backwards while raising an elbow, Jackie gasping as his elbow came down onto her chest & knocked the wind out of her.
She, however, gritted her teeth & spun on the ground, wrapping his arm in an arm bar while pushing down on his chest as hard as she could.
Chad quickly flexed his arm to stop it from breaking, gritting his teeth as he fueled more spiritual energy through his body to counter Jackie as she tried to bring his arm further down before deciding that he had enough playing around.
With a thought, his arm was covered in a light green glow that quickly turned orange, Jackie's eyes widening as the glow brightened considerably before a heavy explosion sent both of them flying in opposite directions.
Rolling across the sand, Chad grunted as he spun & rolled to his feet, coming to a skidding stop while looking at Jackie with a frown as the woman was already on her feet with a glare.
However, he couldn't help the proud feeling in his chest as he saw the burn marks on her arms, legs & the part of her abdomen that was visible from her torn shirt, looking at Jackie before frowning as he watched her scoff & stand upright.
"Not bad. I guess even without spiritual energy, you're pretty good." Jackie spoke with a smirk as a light green glow covered her body, Chad nodding as the same orange glow from before covered his body and the two stared at each other in silence for a while before they vanished.
The next moment, the sand was knocked away by a loud shockwave as his fist & her foot clashed, Chad surprised to see someone being capable of blocking his punch with a kick while Jackie herself was surprised as there were very few people that could take a kick from her head on.
'Maybe Kūgo was right. This won't be so boring after all.' Jackie thought with a smirk as she pushed off of Chad's fist & landed a few paces away, not surprised to find the teen already in front of her with a fist pulled back.
With a smirk, Jackie leapt over his jab with a spin just as an explosion ripped through the air below her, Chad grunting as a kick to his shoulder made him sink a knee before growling as he caught the leg that kicked him.
Throwing her into the air with a growl while bringing his free fist around for an uppercut, Jackie crossed her legs below her just as another explosion slammed into them, a sense of weightlessness enveloping her as she was sent flying through the air.
Chad wanted to follow up before stopping in his tracks as he watched the air behind her turn a light purple, watching in slight surprise as it stretched the second she landed on it before quickly moving out of the way as a violet blur shot past him.
"Not bad, Chad. You're quite fast for a guy your size." Jackie spoke with a smirk as she turned around to face him and as Chad turned to look at her, he raised his fists once more as a violet cage of spiritual energy surrounded them on all sides.
'I guess we're going for a round two.'
A/N: I'm going to be truthful…I kind of forgot that this was a Gamer/ System fic, so I had to get in that mindset for writing that type of story.
Why am I torturing myself like this? Right, I thought I could do it.
Also, if you haven't seen it yet, go to the previous chapter to see the new upload schedule on the Pat-Reon.
Anyway, next chapter, more battling and a timeskip.
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...
Enjoy the cliffhanger & Ba-Bye~!