The sound of a text message alert chimed. Asakura Yoh checked his phone while nimbly dodging attacks from Sado Yasutora, Inoue Orihime, and Arisawa Tatsuki.
The message was from Ishida Uryu, and the content was extremely brief.
[Kuchiki-san is in danger. The location is...]
Yoh's eyes flickered. He pocketed the phone and used a clever deflection to throw Sado's attack off course, sending it straight toward Inoue Orihime, who was providing support from the rear.
"Santen Kesshun—I reject!"
Arisawa Tatsuki's bandage-wrapped fist, wreathed in crimson flames, lunged toward Yoh's midsection. Yoh side-stepped and grabbed her arm, pulling with a counter-force that caused Sado Yasutora—who hadn't fully retracted his punch—to take the hit in his stead.
"Sorry!"
Despite the apology, Arisawa Tatsuki didn't skip a beat. She twisted her hips to drive an elbow strike home. When that failed to connect, she immediately followed up with a sweeping kick.
But Yoh was clearly faster. He caught Tatsuki's arm and sent her flying with a powerful toss.
However, at the moment he threw her, Yoh noticed that his own hands were wrapped in bandages. A faint suppressing force began to emanate from them.
"Orihime! Sado! Now!"
"Aaaah—!"
"Koten Zanshun—I reject!"
Just as the attacks from various directions were about to converge on him, Yoh suddenly vanished into thin air.
A moment later, he appeared behind Inoue Orihime and gave her a light chop to the head. The bandages on his hands had already been sliced away.
"Ow..."
Inoue Orihime rubbed her head and apologetically pressed her hands together toward her two teammates.
"I'm sorry, Sado-kun, Tatsuki-chan. I've been taken out again."
"Yoh! Why do you always target Orihime first!?"
Arisawa Tatsuki shouted indignantly. She had just started to get into the flow of the battle, only for it to end so abruptly yet again.
"Isn't it common sense to take out the support first? Anyway, sorry, let's call it a day. I have some urgent business."
"Huh?"
"Yukio, let me out."
"Hey, hey! What's going on? Explain yourself before you leave!"
Arisawa Tatsuki asked, dissatisfied.
"It's nothing much. Ichigo and Uryu are about to be beaten to death, so I'm going to go retrieve their bodies."
"What? Just something small like—Wait, WHAT!?"
Because Yoh's tone was so casual, Tatsuki initially assumed it wasn't a big deal, but the weight of his words quickly sank in, prompting her to let out a frantic cry.
The expressions of Inoue Orihime and Sado Yasutora shifted instantly, their eyes filled with visible worry and urgency.
"Are you sure you only want me to let you out?"
Yukio's voice drifted down from the air.
"Yeah. Don't let them out until I say it's okay."
"I don't care what happens afterward..."
Yukio spoke apathetically, clearly trying to distance himself from any potential trouble to avoid the hassle later.
"Hey! Wait! Tell us what happened to Ichigo and the others!"
Without giving the three of them another chance, Yoh stepped out of the virtual space Yukio had created.
Upon seeing Yoh in person, Yukio uncharacteristically tore his attention away from his game and looked up.
"Do you need help?"
"No. Besides, aren't you almost out of battery?"
"...Then be careful..."
"Yeah, don't worry."
After saying that, Yoh walked over to the wall, pressed his palm against a spot marked with a target, and injected his Furyoku into it.
...
Rain began to fall from the night sky over Karakura Town once again—
"Hey...! Rukia!"
He felt his blood draining away as the cold rain sapped the warmth from his body. His nostrils were filled with the heavy scent of dust, rain, and blood.
Kurosaki Ichigo lay on the ground, his strength fading. He didn't even have the power to move a finger, let alone grip the handle of his broken blade.
He didn't understand how things had escalated so quickly. He didn't truly know much about Soul Reapers or the Soul Society, but he understood one thing: if these two Soul Reapers took Rukia away, it was all over.
From their conversation, he had gathered this much—
Rukia was being arrested for giving her Soul Reaper powers to him and would face a severe punishment.
Rukia had given him the power to save his family and had changed his world, yet in the end, it was his fault she was in this position.
He could not accept such an ending, yet he was powerless to stop it.
"Don't move!" Rukia's voice came through gritted teeth, her tone thick with a struggle to suppress her emotions.
"Don't you dare move...! If... if you dare follow us..."
Rukia looked back at Kurosaki Ichigo as he lay in a pool of blood. Her expression, a mix of sorrow and lingering attachment, left him speechless.
"I will... absolutely never forgive you!"
Ichigo looked at Rukia's resolute back and understood the unspoken meaning in her eyes.
But then, the rain suddenly stopped.
"Quite a lively scene. It's rare to visit the 'World of the Living,' so why not stay a few more days before heading back?"
Yoh crouched down and placed an umbrella over Kurosaki Ichigo. He had already placed an identical umbrella where Ishida Uryu lay.
Orange flames burned amidst the heavy rain, dispelling the chill from the two of them.
'When did he...?!'
Abarai Renji, whose face was marked with blood and scratches, widened his eyes. Even though he was a spirit himself, he looked at Yoh as if he were seeing a ghost.
He hadn't felt the other's Spiritual Pressure approaching at all—in fact, he couldn't even sense it now.
'What on earth is this guy? Is he actually human?'
"Who are you?"
Byakuya Kuchiki's disdainful gaze swept over the object behind Yoh—it looked less like a weapon and more like a massive stone tablet with a handle.
"Asakura Yoh... Why are you here...?"
Rukia Kuchiki watched Yoh with trembling eyes. She was filled with dread—not of Yoh himself, but that he would be hurt because of her, just like Ichigo and Ishida Uryu.
She knew Yoh was strong, perhaps even stronger than Renji, but even so, he would be no match for her brother.
"Yoh..." Kurosaki Ichigo struggled, trying to get up to continue the fight alongside Yoh.
Although his wounds were beginning to heal due to Yoh's ability, the Saketsu and Hakusui that Byakuya Kuchiki had destroyed could not be restored this way, nor would the massive amount of blood he had lost return to his body.
"Uryu sent me a message the moment he saw you get caught. You guys really suffered a crushing defeat, didn't you?"
"Human. What is that object behind you? What is that ability you used to treat them? And how did you..."
"Howl—Zabimaru!"
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