"Haaa.... Haaa..."
Zenkichi breathed heavily, eyes wide as he looked down at the Curse dissipating into black ashes.
He sharply turned to Rukia and yelled, "What the fuck was that?!"
Rukia snapped out of her daze and simply replied, "That was a Curse."
"Curse? That's what these... things are? Curses? Like, someone is cursing me?"
She shook her head, just realizing that Zenkichi has zero knowledge of the entire situation and decided to fill him in quickly. "No, they're not the same."
"The huge group of monsters that I defeated are called Hollows. They're spiritual creatures born from human souls who, for various reasons, do not cross over to Soul Society after their deaths and stay in the Human World for too long."
"They are corrupt spirits with supernatural powers which devour the souls of both living and deceased humans."
"As for the one you defeated?" Rukia walked toward him, her expression turning grim, and continued, "It's called a Curse, or Cursed Spirit. They're a race of spiritual beings formed from humanity's negative emotions over a long period of time."
"And judging by its early behavior? I'm guessing that it was formed because of... very extreme perverted emotions."
Rukia showed an expression of disgust and anger.
"You mean..." Zenkichi wasn't dumb. As he looked around the park, with a playground nearby, he quickly came to the realization of what kind of sick pervert's lingering emotions had probably created that thing.
He shivered. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and destroyed it.
'Wait, how did I react to it so quickly? Is my awakening causing my senses to enhance? Or...' Zenkichi blinked, not noticing his eyes that was black and white had quickly returned to normal.
Rukia didn't notice the change in his eyes this entire time, she was more focused on their surroundings for any hidden enemies.
"So what now? Is it over—?"
He didn't get to finish his words when loud, far-away roars resounded from all directions.
The sound came from every side of the park at once, far more numerous than before. The ground trembled faintly under their feet as multiple Hollows and Cursed Spirits answered the lingering "scent" of Zenkichi's awakening.
Rukia's face tightened.
"It's not over," she said grimly, raising Sode no Shirayuki again. "Your newly awakened power is still leaking everywhere. The stronger ones are starting to gather."
"Well, what's the plan then?" Zenkichi placed The Bonk and calmly looked around, seeing numerous tall shadowy figures heading their way.
"Unfortunately, we can't leave here."
"And why not?"
Rukia's eye twitched, "That's because there's not any other open space nearby that won't get a bunch of civilians killed if we lead them there."
"This park is the only decent clearing in the area. Everywhere else is packed residential zones or narrow streets. If we run into the city proper, they'll start smashing through houses trying to reach you."
"Ah fuck. You're right..." Zenkichi groaned.
As someone who had lived in this neighborhood all his life, he knew the layout too well. The park was a wide and open pocket surrounded by tightly packed houses, apartment buildings, and narrow residential streets.
"So we're stuck fighting them here," he muttered. "Great."
His grip tightened on The Bonk as he scanned the darkness, contemplating on how they'll cut down the monsters without exhausting themselves.
This was a war on attrition after all.
"Why isn't there any, uh, supernatural police to back us up? With this much commotion happening, I'm surprised no one's coming here to check what's happening."
Rukia narrowed her eyes and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that is weird. If I could sense your awakening, other forces in the area would as well."
'Could it be that something important is happening that's taking the attention of almost all the forces? I've texted out for a reinforcement but I'm not getting any replies.' Witn that uneasy feeling surging in her, she quickly pulled out her flip cellphone and tried figuring out what's happening.
While Rukia was busy, Zenkichi used that moment to look through his system shop.
...
Velvet Aphrodisia Pill – 10 Hentai Points
Blushing Sakura Wine – 1,000 Hentai Points
Sweet Nights Incense – 200 Hentai Points
Lewd Cursed Spirit — 1,000 Hentai Points
Eros Physique — 2,000 Hentai Points
Hentai Protagonist Cut — 69 Hentai Points
Domain: Infinite Backshots — 6,900 Hentai Points
.....
'System, if I buy this "Lewd Cursed Spirit" thing, would it stop the Hollows and Cursed Spirits from attacking me?' Zenkichi wanted this whole situation to be done with as soon as possible.
Rukia had said it herself, as long as the "scent" of a newly awakened keeps on emitting from his body, creatures like Hollows and Cursed Spirits will keep hunting him.
It's supposed to last at least a couple of hours!
It had only been ten minutes and they had already faced five Hollows and one freaky Cursed Spirit. And there were supposed to be stronger ones coming after him as more time passed.
By his understanding, the monsters were hunting him down because the energy awakening inside him was still forming and settling down into a complete power.
Every spike of adrenaline, every swing of The Bonk, every time his heart pounded from the fight...the energy within him grew stronger and consolidated.
That would mean two things; one, the time of the "scent" emitting from him would shorten. The other? Even stronger monsters would appear.
[Yes. The scent of a newly awakened will cease. However, monsters that have already been attracted by you would keep on hunting you down until you defeat them.]
'Y'know something? Times like this that a system should be offering me a quest or mission to defeat these monsters, then offer me OP rewards.' Zenkichi inwardly snarked. As a hot-blooded youth, he had read a few light novels that depicted protagonists with a system.
Though unlike his, they were mostly raising their strength and granting them overpowered abilities that could snuff out the entire universe with a light sneeze.
[Fuck off. I offer quests that help you in both body and mind that sets up for your future success, not bland and stupid quests that racks up your bad karma from endless slaughter that, unlike what's portrayed in fiction, would end with the users sealed in the depths of *****.]
[Ugh. What do you take me for? The solo system?]
'What?' He was confused by that statement.
Also, was it just him? Or did he get the feeling that if this system of his could, it would be rolling its eyes at him.
[Are you gonna buy or not?]
'...I'll buy it.' Zenkichi set aside the system's statements for now and bought the "Lewd Cursed Spirit".
As soon as he confirmed the purchase, a surge of dark, warm energy flooded through his body like liquid heat pouring into his veins.
It wasn't painful. It was intense, almost pleasurable, sliding through every nerve and settling deep in his core. His light blue eyes shifted into a deep, dark pink color that radiated a hypnotizing vibe, with the pupils expanding into six-pointed stars.
The blue energy invisible to normal people around Zenkichi shifted immediately into a darker and deeper shade of color that expanded into a pillar of cyan light.
Strangely, it looked as if numerous, long and slippery appendages sprouted from it.
The "Lewd Cursed Spirit" attribute had taken root.
The constant, heavy "scent" of his awakening that had been radiating off him like a beacon suddenly shifted.
It slowly began disappearing, but it also carried a changed flavor.
The raw, desperate pull that attracted Hollows and Curses mutated into something thicker, sweeter, and far more obscene.
The remaining Hollows that were charging toward them suddenly slowed, their roars turning confused and hesitant. A few actually stumbled, masks twitching as if they were sniffing the air and didn't like what they smelled anymore.
Rukia noticed something wrong immediately.
She spun toward him, eyes wide.
"You... What the heck did you just do? Your Reiatsu increased but..."
She looked at the pillar of light around Zenkichi and shivered, she took a few steps back and subconsciously covered her private areas.
She didn't know why.
But something deep inside of her was telling her that those strange appendages was something that all women should fear.
"H-Hentai(pervert)!" Rukia involuntarily yelped.
Zenkichi didn't reply to her. He let out a deep breath, raising his arms, he felt the surging energies circulating throughout his body.
'The bat...' He looked at The Bonk in his hand, feeling a deeper connection to it than before.
In his eyes, for a brief moment, he saw something.
It was a dog. A Shiba Inu to be exact.
But instead of a typical, oh giant mythical dog that would inspire awe and dread.
Nah.
It was just a regular looking Shiba Inu, adorable as hell, and was just staring at him strangely.
Zenkichi stared back.
"What the fu—"
*Bark!*
He blinked, snapping out of his daze.
"What was..."
He stared at the back again and shook his head, deciding to put the strange matter to the side for now.
The expanding aura radiating from him gradually withdrew back into him, the long, slippery cyan appendages dissolving into faint sparks of light that sank beneath his skin. The dark-pink hue in his eyes faded, returning to their usual light blue.
"... Hey, I've got something to ask you." Zenkichi said, turning to Rukia.
"What's your name?"
Although he already knew her name with his skill, she didn't know that. It would be weird to keep calling her lady or other names, and it would be worse if he suddenly called her by name without her telling him. That would invite a whole lot of doubts and suspicion.
Rukia blinked and replied back.
"Oh, right. Yes, apologies. Introduction should be in order." She lightly cleaned herself up before continuing, "I'm Rukia. Kuchiki Rukia. I'm... well, what I am is a whole long story that we don't have the spare time for so I will be skipping it for now."
Zenkichi nodded, "Understandable."
"And you are...?"
"I'm Zenkichi. Hitoyoshi Zenkichi. And, well, I'm supposed to be a regular student that was having a fun time with his girlfriend when this happened."
"Pfft," Rukia snorted, then immediately clapped a hand over her mouth. "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't be laughing but..."
She turned her head away, shoulders shaking slightly as she tried, and failed, to hold back a giggle.
Zenkichi's face heated up.
"Hey, it's not funny!"
"It kind of is," Rukia admitted, wiping the corner of her eye. "You went from... that... to fighting Hollows with a wooden bat. Do you know? This is the first time I've ever heard someone having this kind of a situation. Even Ichigo's situation wasn't as bad as yours."
Zenkichi's eyebrow lifted, a look of recognition appeared in his eyes.
The image of an orange haired guy that could take down a dozen guys easily flashed in his mind.
'Ichigo? It can't be, could it?'
Before he could ask, several new Hollows and Curses appeared from all directions. They all charged immediately towards them.
"They're here!" Rukia raised her sword, ice and frost converged around her.
"Yeah, yeah." Zenkichi rolled his neck and pointed his bat at one of the charging Hollows, a heavy pressure emitted from his body and a cyan aura enveloped him.
Spiritual power and curse energy flowed throughout his body.
"Let's get this over with! Haaaa!!"
Back at the Hitoyoshi household.
Medaka's eyes snapped open, revealing a deeply worried gleam.
"Zenkichi...?"
At that moment, her hair began to change.
For anyone curious, Hitomi was still sleeping soundly in her bedroom.
Because of the noise cancelling headphones, she couldn't hear anything and she had actively blocked all of her other senses except her internal clock to wake her up.
"Hmm... Grandbabies... Hehehe..."
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AN: Ohoho. Now, what shall happen in the next chapter? Find out next time on—HSIMB!!
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