On the first floor of the Kurosaki family clinic, Urahara Kisuke stood in the pitch-black room. At his feet, Kurosaki Isshin lay sprawled on the floor, seemingly unconscious. The second daughter of the Kurosaki family had also just crawled up to the second floor, enduring her injuries. At this level, there shouldn't be any visible flaws.
Of course, a more realistic scenario couldn't be simulated. This was the maximum limit that Isshin could accept.
Urahara slowly exhaled. Next, as long as he let Rukia experience a little accident while dealing with the Hollow, he could logically step in to offer her assistance.
"Oh?"
A flurry of hurried footsteps echoed from above. Urahara pressed down on his hat and vanished from the living room. Unexpectedly, before he could make his next move, an accident had already occurred.
Meanwhile, on the second floor, Rukia watched Ichigo's back gradually disappear down the stairs, falling into a brief daze.
"There are humans in the World of the Living who possess spiritual aptitude. They can sense wandering souls when they get close, and the most outstanding among them can hear, or even see, souls."
The brat in front of her could see her and had even noticed the Hollow's presence before she did. Without a doubt, he was exactly the kind of human with extraordinary spiritual aptitude that Captain Ukitake had spoken of.
But no matter how high his aptitude was, could he really break free from a Bakudō with a mere human body? Even the simplest Bakudō #1 was absolutely not something human strength could contend with.
Yet, this exact thing had just happened right before Rukia's eyes. That brat had forcefully shattered the Bakudō binding him and charged downstairs with a baseball bat.
"Just... who exactly is he?!"
A muffled, low roar echoed in her ears once again, snapping Rukia out of her shock. *This is too embarrassing. I actually let an ordinary human brat rush ahead of me!*
Breaking free from a Bakudō didn't equate to being able to handle a Hollow. Even the weakest Hollow was absolutely not something a human could deal with. But was it really that absolute?
To be honest, Rukia wasn't so sure anymore. That brat had already surprised her twice; a third time didn't seem entirely impossible.
Sprinting downstairs, Rukia saw the middle-aged man lying on the floor and quickly went over to check on him. He had only suffered some external injuries; his soul hadn't been devoured by the Hollow.
Actually, this was quite abnormal. Very few Hollows would only injure humans without killing them. Their goal was very clear—they were a pack of beasts that filled their bellies with souls.
However, Rukia didn't have the luxury to analyze the underlying reasons right now, because the Hollow was right outside the house. Moreover, it had just swatted that orange-haired brat away with a single slap. *Now that's how an ordinary human should perform!*
*So, this is a Hollow? I didn't expect it to be such a monster.* Ichigo sat on the ground, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. The monster roared and charged at him again, and it seemed he couldn't escape.
A black silhouette suddenly appeared in mid-air, like an eagle diving down to hunt its prey. It was that Shinigami.
The katana in her hand was like the eagle's talons. With a light swing, she nearly severed the monster's arm. *Now this is what a Shinigami should look like!*
*Too shallow,* Rukia huffed in dissatisfaction. A hasty strike still wasn't enough. Failing to sever the Hollow's arm in one slash meant it was too late to exert more force.
Sure enough, the massive creature—its entire body covered in striped patterns, its mask slightly bulging like a fish head—let out a roar of pain. Its tightly clenched right fist suddenly opened, and a little girl with short, brownish-yellow hair plummeted rapidly from its palm.
"Yuzu!" Seeing this, Ichigo twisted his body as hard as he could and rolled to the side, finally managing to catch his sister securely before she hit the ground.
*So he charged up just to save his sister?* Rukia glanced at Ichigo behind her. *He does act a bit like an older brother.*
Using the momentum to land on the Hollow's arm and dodge its incoming massive maw, Rukia twisted her body and kicked the creature away. At the same time, she pushed off with her toes, landing on the ground with both hands gripping her sword, firmly shielding Ichigo and Yuzu behind her.
"Don't worry, brat! That guy hasn't eaten your family's souls yet, not even your father lying over there."
*Not yet.* Hearing Rukia's reassurance, Ichigo finally breathed a sigh of relief and stopped shaking Yuzu in an attempt to wake her up.
*But don't Hollows attack people to devour their souls? There are no wandering souls following me around at home anymore, so why would this guy specifically attack my family?* Since it concerned his family's safety, Ichigo had to ask clearly.
This was also the question Rukia had just been pondering. Now that it was brought up, combined with what had happened earlier, she already had an answer in mind.
"In their pursuit of souls with higher spiritual density, it's not uncommon for Hollows to accidentally injure humans. And for you to be able to break a Kidō that only a Shinigami can cast, I've never heard of a soul with such high spiritual density before." Rukia turned her head to look at the stunned Ichigo, giving him her conclusion. "I think its target is most likely you..."
But there were also things that didn't add up. If this Hollow's target was this brat, its movement trajectory shouldn't have been from inside the house to the outside, and there was absolutely no reason for it to keep clutching that girl. Furthermore, in terms of spiritual density, shouldn't she, as a Shinigami, be the more outstanding one?
Therefore, the reason might not entirely lie with the brat. "Of course, this is just one possibility. Later, I will ask the Captain to send someone over to investigate further." After Rukia finished speaking, she noticed the other party didn't react. Turning back, she saw the brat muttering something with a face full of self-blame.
"Dad is lying there hanging by a thread, Karin and Yuzu are covered in blood... So it's all because of me that this happened..."
"Hey! I never said that..."
*Okay, I guess I actually did say that! But that's not what I meant at all!*
Rukia clutched her head and continued to explain loudly, "Didn't I say it? This is just one possibility! I'm absolutely not lying to you. If you were the cause, it definitely would have attacked the second floor directly, understand?!"
"I'll ask someone to investigate the specific reasons. I promise that you and your family will be perfectly safe in the end, absolutely!"
These words allowed Ichigo to slightly break free from his guilt. "Really..." Before he could finish, Rukia's petite figure appeared in his line of sight, along with that monster right behind her!
"Watch out!"
*What?* Before Rukia could even turn her head, a massive palm swatted at her from the left. She only had time to raise her arms before being sent flying.
*Did the Hollow already wake up? When did that happen?! And how did it get so close to me!*
"Never turn your back on your enemy before confirming their death."
On the roof of Ichigo's house, Urahara slowly withdrew his finger into his loose black cloak. His gaze lingered on Rukia, who was now buried under a pile of rubble, as he muttered to himself, "Didn't Kōe teach you about such a major battlefield taboo?"