Shirou wasn't only close to Ichigo and Inoue in school. In fact, he had a few people he could call friends here: Arisawa Tatsuki, Chizuru, Kojima Mizuiro, Keigo, Sado Yasutora.
The female friends like Tatsuki and Chizuru treated him and Ichigo normally. Although... Well, there was also someone who would glare at them every time they entered class.
'Ishida Uryu.' Shirou glanced at the boy wearing glasses sitting several chairs away from him. 'He seems to be a nice person from what I hear from other classmates and teachers... But he hates us for some reasons.'
Shirou honestly didn't understand what they did wrong. According to Inoue, Ishida was a talented student with good grades and polite demeanor. Then why did the bespectacled male hate them so much?
It didn't matter, though. If the other party decided to dislike him, then so be it.
He had gotten used to being disliked by someone. For example Shinji from Fuyuki, whom Shirou still considered a friend.
Anyway, class was boring. Afternoon passed with a short break, and something happened at that moment.
Shirou caught a strange reiatsu appearing somewhere near them during the break. His training all these years taught him how to feel the changes in his surroundings, including the reappearance of Hollow's presence.
He was very attentive to its source and direction, confirming whether or not he was imagining it or there actually was something out there.
Without a doubt, it was coming closer toward the school.
'Damn!' He clicked his tongue. 'It's heading for this place.'
His first thought was to run to the rooftop and stop the hollow if it got too close to the school.
He jolted toward the stairs immediately.
"Hey, Shirou! Where are you going?!" Ichigo shouted out loud.
"The toilet! Be right back soon!" Shirou quickly lied. He knew he wouldn't be able to deceive Ichigo for long but the priority was protecting students.
When he arrived, he saw someone was already on the roof. He saw Ishida Uryu standing on the edge, holding what seemed like a bow made from pure reishi.
With a calm expression, he pulled the reishi string on his bow and released the arrow. Shirou watched as the arrow pierced through the hollow's body in the distance, making the giant monster scream in pain before dissipating into the air. It was an elegant sight, yet cold as well.
After seeing that, Shirou couldn't help but marvel at how skilled Ishida Uryu was to deal with Hollow. And the blue bow made him sure of his suspicion.
'He's a Quincy.'
"..." Ishida exhaled softly.
This was the first time he saw one beside his mother.
His curiosity got the better of him and he appeared from his hiding place.
"You're really something else, huh?" Shirou clapped slowly as he approached the guy.
Ishida tensed visibly and turned around abruptly. His sharp gaze scanned over every inch of Shirou's body before landing directly on his face once more.
"What are you doing here?" Ishida asked without any trace of emotion. He frowned slightly before speaking again after seeing Shirou didn't say anything in return. "Are you here to mock me? If you've come just for that then please get lost."
"Didn't think someone else could use this kind of technique." Shirou ignored his previous remarks completely and continued talking.
Ishida widened his eyes in shock for a brief second. Shirou swore he even heard the soft click sound from his glasses as the frame shook ever so slightly due to sudden movement.
"Did you see me?" He asked cautiously after regaining his composure.
"Yeah," Shirou admitted. There was no point denying it at this stage. Even if he said no, Ishida probably would suspect something. After all, he would question how he ended up in the same place as him coincidentally.
At this time, Ishida seemed troubled, contemplating his next course of action. Shirou silently waited for Ishida's response patiently.
He already prepared his move if the answer was negative. But, unexpectedly...
"Hah..." Ishida sighed before staring intently at him. "Kurosaki Shirou, isn't it?"
He spoke to him quietly without showing much expression on his face. A cold gaze remained locked onto Shirou's eyes as if observing every detail closely.
"Yeah, what about it?" Shirou asked curiously.
"This is troublesome. You have spiritual awareness." Ishida commented dryly. "Forget what you saw. I have no intentions of harming you or anyone."
"Why should I listen to your order?"
"... No particular reason. It is merely advice for your own sake. Because a human like you shouldn't be involved in the battles against the hollow."
"Battles against hollow?"
"That's right."
"So, you are the one protecting this city from Hollow?"
Curious, Shirou decided to fish for an answer. Once again, this was something he learned from that tsundere magus, asking straightforward questions to gather intel and piece everything together. Maybe it could be useful someday.
However, Ishida chose to remain silent. No matter how Shirou waited, the quincy refused to open his mouth again, so he chose to leave it at that.
Shirou changed his strategy and decided to ask directly.
"I thought Quincy already perished?"
Hearing that, Ishida's expression hardened even further, as though he wanted to say something but held himself back. Instead, he stared firmly into Shirou's eyes and spoke solemnly.
"For a spiritually aware human, you sure know about the right stuff." Ishida mumbled under his breath and pushed up his glasses. "Why do you think you should be involved in our conflict?"
That question was answered with another question instead, but Shirou understood exactly what Ishida meant by saying those words. The other party probably didn't want anyone to get into danger, which made him smile fondly.
"Well, I guess..." Shirou paused briefly, thinking about how best to respond before replying honestly. "...Because it's my duty?"
A raised eyebrow indicated Ishida wasn't satisfied with his ambiguous reply, prompting him to elaborate further. "As long as everyone here is safe... I am okay with it. So if you're protecting people, I guess I will have to say thank you."
As expected, this answer did little to satisfy Ishida either judging by his reaction.
"What nonsense..." Ishida sighed.
"There was supposed to be a Soul Reaper protecting this area, but it seems the number of hollows has increased lately." Shirou tried to bring out a topic which would trigger Ishida's response.
"The Shinigami assigned in this area was probably gone. Lazy bastards didn't send any reinforcements so far. Don't rely on them to protect your town. They can't be trusted at all. If you meet a Hollow, you better run away." Ishida commented cynically.
Seeing how Shirou seemed puzzled, the quincy clicked his tongue and pushed his glasses up.
"If you have nothing to say anymore, I will excuse myself."
With that, he left.
From his observation, Shirou concluded Ishida wasn't a bad guy. Despite disliking him and Ichigo, or maybe everyone else, the quincy fought to protect the city from hollow. However, Shirou noticed some hidden hatred beneath the cold personality.
'I guess it has something to do with Soul Reapers or Hollow in general.'
Isshin mentioned about Shinigami—they were protectors of souls, but not Quincies. They might not be in a friendly relationship with each other, since Ishida didn't seem to hold a positive view about them.
Because Shirou had worked hard to mask his reiatsu, and he had an item that could assist that from shady Urahara, Ishida didn't seem to realize that he was in fact also a Quincy, albeit a unique one.
"I should get going or I'll be late for the next class."
Realizing the time was ticking by fast, Shirou immediately rushed to return to class.
***Chapter End***
Another Quincy? A normal one?!
Surprising, or not. We know, but our boy didn't.