†††
The awakening of Ichigo Kurosaki's Fullbring was a complete success.
Having regained a level of spirit that made him look like a different person, the young man stood tall with his new power. Ginjo, catching the infectious grin on Ichigo's face, shifted his gears and informed him that today's training was over.
"Wait... you're telling me to go home?"
Riruka, who had been seeing off the man who had been inside "Mr. Pork," turned bright red at Ichigo's blank repetition.
"O-Of course I am! What did you think, you creep? Were you planning on staying the night when there are girls around? Gross!"
"No, I just... well, when I was training as a Soul Reaper, it was always a non-stop, locked-in kind of deal."
Ichigo mumbled about the severity of Urahara's lessons and Hirako's Hollowfication training, his body actually trembling at the memory of those terrors.
The "Shattered Shaft" of despair, the training to learn his sword's name, the battle with his inner Hollow—to him, they were milestones. To Ginjo and the others listening to the details, however, it sounded like a deranged hell that made them question Urahara's sanity.
"Are you an idiot?! That wasn't training; they were treating you like a disposable pawn! Why did you just accept that?!" Riruka shouted.
"I agree," Ginjo added, his brow furrowed. "Do you have any idea how many times you nearly died? One wrong step and you would have turned into a Hollow for real. That's not how you train a precious ally or a student."
"That's..."
"I thought so. It must have been rough, Ichigo."
As a fellow human and a Fullbringer who understood the feeling of being oppressed by Soul Reapers, Ginjo looked disgusted by the story.
To prey on Ichigo's innocence, to explain nothing while acting like a benefactor, and then to force a fifteen-year-old boy to fight the Gotei 13 and Aizen's army just to clean up a mess involving the stolen Hogyoku—only to lose all interest the moment his power was gone... It was the textbook play of a con artist.
The vague distrust Ichigo had harbored toward Kisuke Urahara and the others finally took a concrete shape. As Ichigo stood there, stunned, Ginjo spoke to him with total sincerity.
"In the sense that we're trying to use your power, we're the same as that man. But we will treat you as an equal, and we won't force a living human to do more than is necessary."
In truth, Ginjo could have used his own power to stop Giriko's Fullbring if Ichigo had truly been in danger. Training without safety protocols was nothing short of attempted murder.
"I know you're anxious because your friends are being attacked, but for now, get some rest. If you break your body, it's all for nothing."
"Ginjo..."
"I don't know if it'll put your mind at ease, but we'll handle the patrols in Karakura Town until you're stronger. Fortunately, I have a good idea of who attacked your friends."
"...Thanks. I owe you one."
"H-Hmph! Consider it a favor you have to return!" Riruka huffed.
"Always so honest, aren't you?" Jackie teased.
"It's a give-and-take relationship," Ginjo said with a relaxed smile. The tension in the room dissolved into relief, and the man saw off their promising newcomer with a clear, supportive gaze.
"Still... what on earth was that Fullbring?"
Late that night, after sending Ichigo home and dismissing the other members, Kugo Ginjo sat alone in his room, recalling the sight of Ichigo's power.
He had never seen a Fullbring manifest as a sentient, humanoid figure—one that looked almost like the physical spirit of a Zanpakuto.
"I guess that's the Hero of the Spirit World for you," he muttered.
A "Triple-Threat" who was a half-Soul Reaper, a Fullbringer, and a possessor of Hollow power. Even Ginjo had never seen someone who combined all three traits so perfectly.
The masked girl Ichigo had manifested was likely a rare anomaly born from the mutual interference of all his various powers. From the perspective of someone trying to design a training curriculum for him, it was a headache-inducing variable.
But Ginjo also felt a sense of triumph.
Their goal was to restore Ichigo's Soul Reaper powers. The fact that his Fullbring showed glimpses of that influence meant they were close to the finish line.
"In that case... I should change his training with Jackie. Instead of simple one-on-one combat, we need something that makes him remember how a Soul Reaper fights."
Originally, he had planned to use Jackie—a physical-attack type—to increase the precision of Ichigo's power through live combat. But in this situation, there was a better way.
He was just as impatient as Ichigo. Despite denouncing Urahara's reckless methods, Ginjo was realizing that he might have to follow suit—because Ichigo truly didn't have much time left.
"...What are you planning, Tsukishima?"
Feeling a chill at the thought of the former leader's secret maneuvers, Ginjo pushed aside his lingering unease and closed his eyes.
†††
I can feel it. Just like before.
The presence of spirits.
On his way back from the hideout in Naruki City, Ichigo Kurosaki looked at the midnight streets with a sense of wonder.
Behind the telephone poles, on the rooftops, on the playground equipment in the park...
When he looked and listened, the presence of ghosts drifted from everywhere. It was almost unbelievable that he hadn't been able to perceive them until now; these supernatural beings were wandering around the living world as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"How are you feeling, Ichigo?" his companion asked gently.
Ichigo walked with a light, airy sensation. "...I forgot how noisy the world around us really is."
"I suppose so. I remember being quite surprised myself when I first awakened to my spiritual power."
The man smiling at him was Yasutora Sado. Chad, who seemed as happy about the change as if it were his own, had originally awakened his own powers because of the influence of Ichigo's spiritual pressure.
"Ichigo."
"What is it, Chad?"
Chad suddenly noticed something and walked across the street. Ichigo followed and found a young girl crying in the shadow of a telephone pole.
It was nostalgic. She was the ghost of a child who had died in a car accident, someone he used to talk to often after school.
"...Big brother...?"
The girl looked up as she noticed him. For now, Ichigo picked up a small, fallen vase—the likely cause of her tears—and set it upright.
"Ichigo, take this. It was blooming in the corner of the park."
Chad, who had stepped away for a moment, returned and handed him a lovely iris. He was clearly suggesting they put it in the vase. Ichigo chuckled and followed his friend's silent act of kindness.
"Th... Thank you..."
The girl thanked him in a thin voice, yet she wouldn't meet his eyes. Though she had stopped crying, she looked terribly sad.
The confusion lasted only a second. Realizing the reason, Ichigo scratched his head awkwardly and crouched down to look at her downcast face.
...Most likely, this spirit had continued to try and talk to him even while he was powerless. Having been suddenly ignored, she must have been deeply hurt, thinking he was snubbing her on purpose.
"Sorry, kid. I've been under the weather lately, so I couldn't see spirits for a while."
Apologizing, he patted her head before turning to continue home. The happy "See you later!" she called out to his back left a warm glow in the chests of both young men.
Ichigo and Chad walked side-by-side through the night.
There was no conversation between them. But the smiles on their faces were proof of the comfort they found in the silence.
That was it.
This strange, troublesome, yet sometimes wonderful world of supernatural neighbors—this was his true reality.
Until the path to their respective homes diverged, the two young men continued to savor the happiness of their reclaimed everyday lives.
†††
The next day.
Having had a full night's rest, Ichigo met up with one of the organization's members in a forest on the outskirts of Karakura Town, as instructed.
"I'm Jackie Tristan."
Ichigo thanked the foreign woman as she introduced herself with a competitive "Nice to meet you." Today's training was apparently taking place outdoors.
"Sorry for dragging you into this. You were the one patrolling the town last night, right?"
"No need to be formal with comrades. Though I don't mind a polite man," she replied casually.
Jackie, acting as the supervisor, began to explain the training.
"...Hunting Hollows?"
"That's right. Considering the nature of your Fullbring, the fastest way to progress is 'Hollow Hunting.' It lets you touch the Hollow spiritual pressure you need to awaken your Fullbring while also reminding you how to fight as a Soul Reaper."
"...I see."
Having a hunch about the true nature of that power after the incident with Aizen, Ichigo saw no reason to argue with Jackie's words and nodded.
As for the Hollows, they planned to just use whatever appeared in the area. Ichigo was a bit exasperated by the "fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants" nature of the plan, but his supervisor remained unfazed.
The reason lay in the very essence of Fullbringers.
"Ichigo, use your Fullbring here. Right now."
"Now? I mean, sure."
As he looked at her with suspicion, Jackie offered a hint.
"Our powers are born because our mothers were attacked by Hollows before we were born. That's because our unique spiritual pressure attracts them."
"...Oh, I get it."
Realizing the intent, Ichigo pulled out his Substitute Badge without hesitation.
"Heh, good call. Now show me... show me your Fullbring!"
Responding to her shout, the youth released his spiritual pressure high into the sky. Recalling the sensation from the previous day and reaching into the depths of his heart, he felt a presence...
"Hehe... did you call for me?"
The familiar voice echoed in his head at the same moment several chains of light erupted from the badge, forming the shape of that nostalgic "masked girl."
"Whoa... I saw it yesterday, but Ginjo was right. You really do have the traits of both a Soul Reaper and a Hollow. I've never seen a Fullbring like this..."
Jackie's reaction was only natural. Ichigo thought back to all the times this girl had been there for him.
When she healed his wounds during Bankai training. When she taught him how to communicate with his inner Hollow. When she, along with Zangetsu, taught him the "Final Getsuga Tensho."
And...
"...You were watching over me the whole time, weren't you?"
A surge of emotion warmed his chest.
Having finished her role as the seal to suppress the power of "White"—his inner Hollow—she was the trump card of that "Reader" who had put her life on the line to save him during the final battle with Aizen. Though she was still shrouded in mystery, she had saved Ichigo once again, returning to him the power and the life he had longed for.
"...Oh."
Suddenly, the young man felt a wave of confusion. He knew what she was, and he knew the names of the other two who looked like her.
But he didn't know her name.
When he asked, the girl put a hand to the chin of her mask, seemingly lost in thought. Then, she told him that while she had no name, the sealing art she governed did.
"The Fang-Locking Seal? Is that it?"
"That won't work as the name for your Fullbring, Ichigo. That's clearly a Soul Reaper's kido term," Jackie cut in.
"!"
Jackie's voice splashed cold water on his conversation with the girl.
"A Fullbring goes through several stages before it's complete. You can look forward to naming it once it reaches its final form."
"I see... that's why it doesn't have a name yet."
Ichigo nodded to himself, but the woman looked up at the sky.
"Especially if that power is unprecedented. If you can actually converse with your Fullbring like a Zanpakuto, that's progress in itself. But... 'now' is not the time for that."
"This spiritual pressure!"
Following Jackie's gaze, Ichigo noticed it immediately. The presence that had suddenly appeared was a familiar one he hadn't felt in a long time.
"Well then... it looks like we have guests."
The blue sky began to bleed into darkness. From that distortion—a black, speckled tear—emerged monsters wearing hideous masks.
"Oooooooohhhhh..."
"Aaaaaaarrrghhh..."
"Grrrr..."
Their true forms were fallen spirits who had lost their hearts: Hollows. The growing army lunged all at once toward the owner of the spiritual pressure that matched their ancient, ancestral enemy.
"...Heh."
Watching the scene in awe, Ichigo couldn't help but let a smile escape. The nostalgia was so strong it almost brought tears to his eyes.
Enemies.
Hollows.
The everyday life of a Substitute Soul Reaper.
If it had been his recent self, he would have been devoured without even seeing them. Or he would have had to stand by and watch Ishida and the others fight while he did nothing.
...But now.
"Will you lend me your power again?"
Ichigo turned to his side. Standing there was the masked girl—his power to fight, his Fullbring.
His reliable partner offered a happy word of affirmation. Good. In that case, there's nothing to worry about.
"Can you do this, Ichigo?"
"...Yeah!"
Clenching his Substitute Badge, he answered Jackie with conviction.
He would use a single technique. It was the sensation of that strike taught to him by his former partner, the Zanpakuto Zangetsu.
He extended the chains of his Fullbring and swung them in a wide arc. The circle he drew in the air was stained black by the spiritual pressure he cloaked it in.
Then, he unleashed it all at once toward the approaching Hollow army.
—Getsuga Tensho!—
A single flash.
A massive, fan-shaped wave of spiritual pressure erupted from the arcing chains, cleaving through everything in his field of vision.
"What?!"
"...!"
Jackie's voice of shock was lost in the dull roar of the explosion. Ichigo himself let out a stunned breath.
It was a world away from his power during the final battle with Aizen. But this single strike, fueled by all the frustration of his months of helplessness, possessed enough power to easily wipe out the mindless rabble before him.
"...Haha."
The corners of his mouth turned up. Through the chains of his Fullbring, he could feel the masked girl's excitement. Driven by emotion, Ichigo leaped toward the remaining Hollows.
"Go!!"
"Wait, was that the Bringer Light?!"
Once he remembered the trick of it, the rest was easy. He stimulated the faint spiritual pressure of the ground beneath his feet and leaped using an application of the Flash Step. Catching one of the enemies in his range in an instant, he fired a Getsuga directly from the badge itself, now cloaked in the cross-shaped spiritual pressure.
"...Ginjo, this guy is really...!"
Jackie watched the scene in total admiration.
Five, six, seven. Ichigo swung his power without even stopping to breathe; he was a one-man army.
The "Hero of the Spirit World," awakened from an eighteen-month slumber, was truly back.
"HAAAAAAAAHHHH!!"
Ichigo trampled the enemies, commanding the chains of his badge with mastery. His heart was filled with the pride of a warrior.
I can fight. With this girl.
Just like before, when I fought alongside Zangetsu. I can become a man who can protect everyone again.
The last Hollow he defeated vanished into spirit particles. Watching it go, Ichigo's face was flushed with joy as he looked at the masked girl.
Despite her face being hidden, this new partner was far easier to read than that bearded guy in the sunglasses. It seemed it would take a little more time to get used to her bubbly, approachable aura.
"I'm counting on you from now on."
"Yes...!"
Though he felt a bit embarrassed by the sheer joy radiating from behind her mask, Ichigo looked toward his bright future with a smile, walking forward alongside the girl.
***
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