It was early May, a time when the trees were lush with new growth. At twilight, the sudden chime of a ringtone prompted Yasutora Sado to open his phone. The very first words he heard made his eyes widen.
"He said, 'It's not like I trust you,' but he seems interested."
"Mm..."
The person on the other end of the line spoke matter-of-factly, mentioning they had handed Ichigo their business card. The content of the report sent a quiet surge of excitement through Chad.
After a few brief confirmations, he tucked the phone back into his pocket and murmured to himself.
"...Ichigo, so you really..."
To protect his family, his friends, and so many others—Ichigo was currently facing the internal conflict of abandoning his powerless peace. That fact weighed heavily on the scales of Chad's heart.
Clenching his fist, he thought back to the events of a month ago...
It was on the way home from the opening ceremony of their third year in high school.
Chad had been recruited by a man named Kugo Ginjo into a mysterious organization of psychics. When Ginjo revealed the organization's goal, Chad had stood up from the sofa in the reception room in shock.
—Our goal is to restore Ichigo Kurosaki's Soul Reaper powers.
They knew so much. They knew about Chad's own unique spiritual ability and the reason why such powers manifested in humans. Everything they said was a shock, and none of it could be dismissed as mere nonsense.
Especially when it came to a certain future possibility for his best friend, Ichigo Kurosaki.
"Our abilities were born from the influence of Hollow power. You've only just awakened to your power and you've had allies by your side, so you might not understand, but..."
—We loathe this power.
Chad knew that Ginjo's words weren't entirely truthful. He had fought a few members during his so-called "entrance exam," and they all seemed to boast loudly about their abilities, appearing quite proud of their status as psychics.
If they truly loathed their power, they would have fought with the same pained expression Ichigo used to wear when he utilized his Hollowfication.
And yet, Chad joined them anyway. There was something more important than their true motives.
"...Can you really bring back Ichigo's powers?"
"Yeah. It's already been proven with the help of a certain half-Soul Reaper who used to be a comrade of ours."
He didn't know the truth. He had no way to verify it. But even so, this encounter was a massive opportunity he couldn't let slip away. Even if Ichigo's Soul Reaper powers didn't return, if he possessed the talent for Fullbring like they did, simply helping that talent bloom would be enough to help him move forward.
And so, Yasutora Sado had shaken hands with Kugo Ginjo.
"...Hm?"
As he envisioned that hopeful future, he suddenly felt a strange presence—a gaze. It was a sensation that was neither spiritual pressure nor hostility, something mysterious and hard to describe.
But Chad didn't even take a single step to track the presence. In the deserted alleyway ahead, the source of that feeling was already standing there before he knew it.
"...!"
It was a petite girl wearing the gray high school uniform he saw every day at school. But it was what she had on her face as she stared at him that made him freeze.
"W-Wait!"
A moment later, the girl suddenly turned on her heel.
Impossible. What is this? Shock and confusion swirled within Chad as he frantically gave chase.
She was wearing a pure white mask. It was the same as the one his best friend, Ichigo Kurosaki, used to wear—the mask of a Hollow.
Running at full speed, Chad easily gained on the girl's back. But just as his hand reached out for her slender shoulder...
"She vanished...?"
The moment he rounded the corner of a residential wall and lost sight of her, he burst out onto an open riverbank. The masked girl was nowhere to be found.
Chad scanned the area anxiously.
Then, he suddenly heard a familiar man's voice.
"...I hate being sentimental."
Standing there was the orange-haired youth. It was his former partner, Ichigo Kurosaki, the one Chad had been worrying over for the past seventeen months.
What was he doing in a place like this? Chad started toward him to ask if he'd seen the masked girl, but he was silenced by the sight of Ichigo's sudden action.
"What...?"
With a faint whistling sound through the air, there was a plop as the surface of the water rippled.
Leaving behind an afterglow that felt like both an instant and an eternity, Ichigo walked away from the riverbank without looking back at what he had just thrown.
"...!"
Snapping back to his senses, Chad kicked off his shoes and dove into the river.
Where is it? Where did it go? Forgetting all about the masked girl he had been chasing, he desperately dove to the riverbed.
Ichigo had thrown away his Substitute Badge. He had discarded the final proof of the Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki that remained in his possession.
Even though he understood the meaning behind the act, Chad searched the river frantically. His best friend's final words wouldn't leave his head.
"Ichigo...! Don't give up, Ichigo!"
We've finally found hope. You can get back the power you lost. Yasutora Sado sent those silent cheers to his friend and to himself.
If you're still sentimental about it, if you still want the power to protect, I'll take you to Ginjo right now.
He's a shady man, like Mr. Urahara. I don't know if he can be trusted. But if he betrays your expectations or wounds your pride, I will fight them. I will take them down myself.
Because that is why I swore to use these fists.
"I promised you... Ichigo!"
Pushing through the murky water and scooping through the silt, Chad finally found it.
"Got it...!"
The Substitute Badge, which should have stayed sunken, rose to the surface, bobbing between the waves under the bridge.
Ichigo Kurosaki was alone; he had lost his spiritual power, and both the Soul Society and Urahara's shop had pulled back from him. To the last remnant of pride left in his friend's hand, Chad reached out with everything he had.
...He never noticed the masked girl watching him from the riverbank.
†††
Twilight fell over Karakura Town, the streetlights beginning to flicker on.
Under the dark bridge by the riverbank, a green light—the Bringer Light—flashed for a moment.
"I—can't—believe—you!"
Riruka Dokugamine, the girl who had come to collect him, was screaming at Chad as he used his Fullbring to spin the water out of his wet clothes.
"You fell into the river because you were dozing off?! What kind of person sleeps on a bridge railing?!"
"...I'm sorry."
"'I'm sorry' doesn't cut it! Honestly! Think about me, having to come out here and look for you!"
Even as she hurled insults at the half-naked young man, Riruka tossed him a handkerchief from her pouch. Even if he was a slow, dim-witted idiot, a comrade was a comrade. She possessed enough humanity to worry that he might catch a cold.
...Of course, the mark of a truly cool woman would be to ignore what the other person was clearly hiding, but unfortunately, she wasn't that refined.
"Hey, Chad. What are you planning to do with that Substitute Badge?"
Ginjo had told her that Chad was close with this "Ichigo Kurosaki." Since it concerned the organization's goals, she couldn't let it slide. When she pressed him, Chad confessed with a sad look on his face.
"...I'm going to keep it for him... until Ichigo says he wants his power back."
"What? Is he still moping about it?"
Between his indecisiveness about Ginjo's invitation and his general moping, Ichigo Kurosaki sounded like a real wet blanket. Riruka grimaced at the thought of another gloomy guy joining the organization.
He was probably just some scrawny, depressing kid who had let being called a "Hero of the Spirit World" go to his head.
Based on that, Riruka's evaluation of him before they met was quite low...
"...He's totally hot, isn't he?!"
...She fell for him instantly.
After hurling insults at the Ichigo Kurosaki who had been invited to their dark hideout, she decided to "size him up" by shining a flashlight in his face—and then she promptly collapsed.
With his sharp features, clear hazel eyes, and striking orange hair, he was a rugged, lean-muscled hottie. He was currently looking down at her as she sat on the floor with a worried expression.
"...Are you okay?"
"I-I'm not okay..."
On top of everything else, he was kind to the woman who had just insulted him. Was this guy invincible?
Thus began the bittersweet days of Riruka Dokugamine's fluttering heart, as the power dynamic between the two was completely settled.
†††
The power to command the souls of matter: Fullbring.
Those who possess this ability, known as Fullbringers, can interact with the souls dwelling within objects to move them, extract their energy, and sometimes even change their shape.
However, this power is strongest when applied to a "cherished item" that the user has spent a long time with.
"I permit you."
—Doll House—
With those words as the signal, Ichigo Kurosaki was sucked into a box decorated with girlish themes.
"W-What is this?! Am I supposed to train here...?"
"That's right! This is my Fullbring. It's the ability to freely pack and store things I like together!"
Riruka Dokugamine puffed out her chest with pride.
Fullbring abilities manifest in various forms, but her power had the unusual trait of being able to infinitely increase the number of things that fit into the "cherished item" framework according to her own tastes.
This time, the plan was to activate her power by inviting Ichigo into her favorite box, and then having him—now the size of a doll—freely fight an enemy.
"Where do you think you're running, you brat?! Hurry up and get over here!!"
"Whoa! What is this giant pig?! It's going crazy, and it's talking?!"
"He's some old yakuza guy I kidnapped from the neighborhood. Since he wasn't cute, I put him inside my 'Mr. Pork.' Hurry up and take him down—and use your Fullbring to do it!"
"Like I could ever do that!!"
Riruka stuck her tongue out at Ichigo as he dodged Mr. Pork's attacks while letting out pathetic screams. She then ordered some sweets and tea from Giriko Kutsuzawa at the bar counter.
His opponent was a stuffed animal. Unless he got hit in a really bad spot, there was no risk of injury. She decided she'd let him be bullied for the full fifteen minutes on the timer.
"...If you're so worried, why don't you help him? You're acting very restless."
"Wh-What?! No, I'm not! If he loses, then he's just that kind of guy, right?!"
Riruka flustered at the comment from her fellow comrade, the beautiful Jackie Tristan, who had seen right through her. But she couldn't show any weakness. This was payback for him messing with her maidenly heart.
...At the very least, Riruka herself was leaving Ichigo's training alone with that kind of lighthearted thinking.
"Time is up."
But fifteen minutes after the start, the atmosphere suddenly shifted.
"Guh... ugh... WAAAAARRGGHHH!!"
"W-What happened...?"
Following a grotesque sound, the stuffed animal suddenly began to go berserk, letting out screams of agony. Its body began to bubble and foam, and the cute Mr. Pork that Riruka liked transformed into a hideous lump of flesh.
"What is that... disgusting thing—?!"
Oh no.
Riruka panicked at her own slip of the tongue. Because of the nature of her ability, Doll House, her control over an object weakens the moment she thinks something is "not cute" or "not to her liking."
Now, there was nothing left to guarantee the safety of the powerless Ichigo.
"Giriko! What the hell did you do?!"
Driven by panic, Riruka lashed out at the culprit who had caused this situation.
"My, weren't you the one who asked me to lend my ability for Ichigo's training?"
"I'm talking about the method! Why did you go out of your way to rip away my control over it?!"
"I simply did what I thought was best. Did you not say it yourself? 'If he loses, then he's just that kind of guy.'"
The one speaking about letting their comrade die with a composed face was the older man with the eye patch, Giriko Kutsuzawa. Riruka paled as she remembered his true nature.
Fullbringers, who had been cut off from the path of living as "normal humans" since birth, were all mentally scarred by their upbringing. But among them, this man was a top-tier madman.
The name of Giriko's Fullbring was Time Tells No Lies. It was a strict contract with God that would grant a single wish in exchange for a designated amount of "time."
"To break the contract is to betray God. If the training is stopped before my designated time has passed, everything will be incinerated by the flames of time."
"...!"
"There is no need for mercy for an untrustworthy newcomer. Isn't that why you asked me in the first place?"
Realizing she had made a terrible mistake in her choice of help, Riruka grit her teeth and turned to the man who served as the de facto leader.
"Ugh... Ginjo! Say something to him—!"
"Let him continue."
"What?!"
But the answer she wanted didn't come. Ginjo spoke as he watched Ichigo with a serious expression.
"Ichigo Kurosaki is the kind of man who needs the 'bottom of despair' as a runway before he can soar upward."
"What does that even mean?!"
"Your method would never have awakened Ichigo's power. It might sound harsh, but this is Giriko's own way of showing his expectations for Ichigo."
Shikai, Bankai, Hollowfication. Every power Ichigo had gained up until now had been earned by overcoming massive trials. If there was a trigger for his Fullbring to awaken, it had to be a "true despair" with no room for coddling. Ginjo was certain of it.
"...No, even that won't be enough."
"Yeah, you're right. It's still missing something."
"What? What are you talking about?"
The towering man beside them nodded at the deduction. Riruka turned worriedly toward him—Yasutora Sado.
Ichigo was dodging the monster's attacks. Chad was staring intently at the one-sided battle, as if he were waiting for something.
The moment the trembling in his fighting friend's eyes stopped...
"—Catch this, Ichigo!"
Chad reached into his jacket and threw the hand-sized object into the box.
"Is that... a Substitute Badge? Why does Chad have it...?"
"I'm sorry...! It was a coincidence, but I was watching you from nearby that time!"
Ichigo's eyes widened as he caught the wooden plank.
"I won't ask what you were thinking or what kind of resolve you had when you threw that away...! But you should have a different resolve now! The resolve to fight that you never lost, no matter what despair was in front of you!!"
"...Chad, you..."
The returned Substitute Badge. Clenching the item that was his last memento, Ichigo returned his friend's feelings with a smile.
...But this was where it really mattered.
"GROOOOAAAAAARRRGGHH!!"
"! Crap...!"
The monster lunged at the stationary Ichigo. As he narrowly dodged, Chad roared.
"Listen, Ichigo! To awaken a Fullbring, you need a tool or an object to act as a trigger!"
"I know! And this is it, isn't it?!"
With a competitive grin, Ichigo held up the badge, saying, "I was just thinking the same thing."
There were many items he used regularly—guitars, cell phones, writing tools. But there was only one cherished item that could draw out Ichigo's "power to fight."
And the feeling needed to draw out the soul of that tool was...
—Pride—
"Remember, Ichigo! Remember the time you took pride in your Soul Reaper powers!"
"The pride in my Soul Reaper powers..."
That's right, Chad shouted in his heart.
Just as I was able to take pride in my own skin and my Mestizo blood thanks to my Abuelo.
"That badge is the final symbol of who you were as a Soul Reaper! When you embrace all of your pride as a Soul Reaper, the badge will answer you!!"
As the message was desperately conveyed, Ichigo closed his eyes as if diving into his own heart. He stood defenseless before the enemy's massive, approaching fist.
"Ichigo?!"
Riruka screamed as she envisioned the end for her comrade. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, like a frame-by-frame replay.
...But there was no ripple of doubt in Chad's heart.
He had told him everything he knew. The source of power, the presence of hope. As long as he had those, that man would always stand back up.
Let's fight together again, Ichigo.
And just as Chad believed, his best friend Ichigo Kurosaki grabbed onto his hope...
"—?!"
Suddenly, a pitch-black light, burning with a crimson hue, erupted from the Substitute Badge.
"Guh...?!"
"Wh-What's happening?!"
"...This spiritual pressure...!"
Some fell to their knees; others curled up, clutching their chests. Their bodies groaned under the pressure, as if the gravity around them had suddenly increased. It was a wave of incredible power that brought back memories of the battle with the Espada.
"What is that...?"
A moment later, the raging spiritual pressure solidified into two forms.
One was a cross-shaped guard.
The other was a chain of light.
Reminiscent of the blade Ichigo once held—Tensa Zangetsu—the manifestations intercepted the monster's attack at the last second, wrapping around it and shredding the enemy's body to pieces in an instant.
Then, the unraveled chains gathered behind Ichigo—forming the shape of a girl in white Soul Reaper robes, wearing a mask.
"...No way!"
In that moment, Chad remembered. He understood.
He understood the reason why the masked girl in the school uniform had appeared before him in the Karakura twilight. He understood the truth behind why chasing her had led him to happen across Ichigo throwing away his badge.
Ichigo turned around, stunned, as the masked girl looked down at him. Deep within those terrifyingly sharp eye sockets, amber eyes shimmering with tears offered a bright smile.
"...Finally... I finally... found you..."
And so, the Hero of the Spirit World, Ichigo Kurosaki, became a Fullbringer who had regained his spiritual power.
***
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