In Ichigo Kurosaki's hazy childhood memories, his father once told him that the meaning of [Ichigo] was to protect something forever.
When he was young, Ichigo Kurosaki had only one wish: to protect his mother.
No matter what troubles he faced, as long as he was by her side, everything seemed to fade away.
It wasn't just Ichigo Kurosaki. At the time, four-year-old Yuzu Kurosaki and Karin Kurosaki, along with their father, Isshin Kurosaki, all loved their mother dearly.
She was the center of their home.
But…
On that day.
The day the rain poured down endlessly.
Ichigo Kurosaki saw a child standing by the riverbank.
Short black hair. White clothes. No umbrella in the rain. Her body swayed, as if she were about to jump in.
Without thinking, Ichigo Kurosaki rushed forward to save her.
But...
When he came back to his senses, his mother was lying on top of him, her body soaked in blood.
The center of the family...was gone.
Ichigo Kurosaki stared blankly at his mother's gravestone.
The rain from that day still seemed to be falling.
Drop by drop, it struck his heart, spilling over from his eyes.
"Please... stop crying, okay?" Karin Kurosaki gently patted her sister's back. "You can't cry every year on this day. We're eleven now. We're already grown-ups."
Karin Kurosaki had only just managed to hold herself together, but the moment Yuzu Kurosaki started crying, her own restraint began to crumble.
"Yeah... I know..." Yuzu Kurosaki wiped at her tears. "I... waaaah!"
"Hey, that's not knowing at all." Unable to keep watching, Karin Kurosaki turned her gaze away, only to suddenly notice a child standing at the edge of the cliff.
Short black hair. White clothes. Her body swayed, as if she might fall at any moment.
"Hm?" Karin Kurosaki frowned. "What's that kid doing standing there?"
"Huh?" Yuzu Kurosaki looked confused. "Who?"
Yuzu couldn't see her?
Karin Kurosaki understood immediately.
In their family, only Ichigo Kurosaki and Karin Kurosaki could see ghosts.
If Yuzu couldn't see her, then that child had to be a ghost.
"Wait here for a moment. I'll be right back," Karin Kurosaki said, then walked toward the ghost by the cliff. "What are you staring at down there from the edge?"
She pointed in a direction.
"If you're still attached to this world, go down that slope. There's an abbot there. You can ask him for help."
"You..." the girl spoke softly. "You can see me?"
"Yeah, I can." Karin Kurosaki had been through this kind of conversation many times. "It's not exactly a good thing, so I usually don't talk about it."
"You can hear my voice too..."
"Of course."
"That's wonderful..." The girl slowly turned around, revealing a pale mask and a twisted, vicious grin. "Looks like... you'll be very tasty."
Karin Kurosaki's pupils shrank sharply.
That aura...
"Karin—" Yuzu Kurosaki called out. "What's wrong? We need to head back."
"Don't come any closer!" Karin Kurosaki couldn't pull her eyes away from the child. "What exactly are you… and… what is that behind you?"
The enormous monster had a bloated body covered in grayish-brown fur. A chilling, vicious grin was carved into its pale mask, and along its cheeks were rows of magatama-shaped black holes.
"I never expected you could see it too…" The girl's eyes flew open. "That's perfect!"
The shaggy monster stretched out a clawed hand, slamming Karin Kurosaki to the ground as she tried to escape.
"Perfect…"
"Karin!" Seeing her sister fall, Yuzu Kurosaki rushed over. "You… what happened?"
She reached out to help her up, but her hand brushed against something invisible.
"What… is this? Karin, there's something on you—ugh!"
Dark brown tentacles burst out from the magatama-shaped holes on the monster's face, wrapping around Yuzu Kurosaki's neck and lifting her into the air.
"You're such an annoying little brat…" The girl stared at Yuzu Kurosaki with open disdain. "Your Reiryoku is pitiful, yet you never stop talking. The one I want to eat is that black-haired brat. Trash like you isn't even worthy of being an appetizer. You're in the way."
The tentacles lashed violently, hurling Yuzu Kurosaki aside.
"Yuzu!"
Karin Kurosaki struggled with all her strength but couldn't break free, forced to watch as her sister's frail body crashed into a tree trunk.
Thud!
Ichigo Kurosaki caught Yūko, carefully setting his sister down before charging straight at the shaggy monster.
"You… let her go!"
He drove a kick into the monster's arm and, in the instant its claws lifted, yanked Karin Kurosaki free.
"Run!"
"Oh?" The shaggy monster flexed its claws as the girl spoke. "Stronger Reiryoku than hers? Not bad~"
"You… it's you…" Ichigo Kurosaki stared at the girl, eyes locked on her. "How can this be… You were the one standing by the river back then, weren't you? Six years ago… Why are you here? Why haven't you changed at all in six years? And why… are you with Hollows!"
"Six years ago?" The girl's expression was cold. "That was too long ago. I don't remember."
"What are you, really?!" Ichigo Kurosaki roared, veins standing out in his eyes. "A Hollow's underling? Or the one controlling them?!"
"Neither…" The girl's skin split open along both sides, revealing a pale, spherical structure within. Long limbs extended from it, connecting to the shaggy monster's head. The human skin draped over its body sagged and swayed like a toy on a string.
"I am me…" the shaggy Hollow said. "I am a Hollow itself."
"So… the child I tried to save back then was you…" The veins on Ichigo Kurosaki's neck bulged. The memory of that night's torrential rain came crashing back, soaking him to the bone with cold. "And you were the one who killed my mother!"
He charged forward in a frenzy, fist clenched tight.
"I already said I don't remember…" The shaggy Hollow raised an arm to meet Ichigo Kurosaki's punch.
The brief exchange had already shown it how strong Ichigo Kurosaki was.
An attack like this—
Bang!
The Hollow's arm trembled, nearly failing to block the blow.
This brat…
Its twisted grin warped even further as it clearly sensed the explosive surge of Reiryoku pouring out of Ichigo Kurosaki.
An unexpected bonus.
Bracing its feet, the shaggy Hollow sneered.
"Why don't you describe your mother's death for me? If it was pretty enough, maybe it'll jog my memory."