"Tch… why is my reiryoku recovering so slowly?" Rukia-chan grit her teeth, her violet eyes narrowing as she glanced toward Kurosaki Ichigo, who was clumsily but determinedly clashing with a Hollow. The complaint slipped from her lips, half to herself.
"Even if the reishi in the Human World is thin… it shouldn't be this bad. At this rate, I run out after casting Hadō a few times…"
Ever since the night she had transferred her Shinigami powers to Kurosaki Ichigo, she had been stuck acting as his… well, babysitter—assisting him in purifying Hollows across Karakura Town.
Her original plan had been simple: recover her powers quickly, resume her own patrols, and keep Ichigo from doing anything reckless that might alert the Soul Society. Without her, he couldn't even manifest his Shinigami form.
But days had turned into weeks, and her spiritual recovery was crawling at a snail's pace. Every Bakudō or Hadō she cast bled her reserves dry.
"This is… bad. If they find out…" she muttered, not realizing that somewhere far away, in the Seireitei, her unusual reiatsu signature had already been noticed.
"What was that, 'find out'?" Ichigo asked suspiciously after delivering a final slash and purifying the Hollow before him.
Rukia waved a hand quickly. "N-nothing! Anyway, you did well this time, Ichigo."
"Oi, wait a sec, Rukia. I gotta tell you something," Ichigo called as she turned to leave.
She arched a brow. "What is it?"
"For tomorrow… let me take a day off from this Shinigami work." His eyes shifted toward the distant riverbank, shadowed with a complicated look.
"Idiot. Shinigami work doesn't have days off. Hollows aren't going to politely wait for you to rest," she shot back, crossing her arms.
"…Because tomorrow is the day my mom died," Ichigo said at last, voice lower. "No… the day she was killed."
Rukia stopped. That look in his eyes wasn't one she could brush aside. With a small sigh, she let her refusal die in her throat. "…Fine."
...
The Next Day – June 17th
At Karakura General Hospital, Ishida Ryūken stood before the tall windows of his office, his gaze lost in the gray morning sky.
Ema… Masaki…
This day six years ago had shattered him. Masaki Kurosaki, his friend—and the woman who had stood at the center of his wife's small circle—had been killed. His wife had never awakened since. Some wounds no amount of Quincy pride could heal.
He planned to let the Kurosaki family have their time at the grave before visiting alone.
...
Elsewhere, Ichigo walked alongside his sisters and father, heading toward the green hills where Masaki's grave stood. The air was heavy, cicadas droning faintly.
Then—
"Oi, Ichigo!"
He froze. There, leaning casually against a tree, waving like it was nothing, was Rukia Kuchiki.
His heart sank. Oh, great.
Leaving his family behind, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her toward the edge of the path. "What the hell are you doing here?!" he hissed.
"What if a Hollow appears and you're caught off guard?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Then don't show yourself in front of my family, baka!" he shot back.
"My bad, my bad," she replied in a tone that was definitely not apologetic.
....
By dusk, the Kurosaki family's prayers were finished. The fading light painted the hillside in gold.
Karin's sharp eyes spotted a girl standing alone at the cliff edge. Curious, she walked over to speak—
At the same moment, Rukia felt a malignant pulse ripple through the air.
"Damn…!" She whipped out her Denreishinki, waiting impatiently as it processed. "So slow…"
Without waiting for the full details, she dashed uphill—and nearly collided with Ichigo.
Moments later, clad in his black shihakushō, Ichigo arrived to find one sister unconscious on the ground and the other dangling in the claws of a towering Hollow.
"Damn you!" He charged, blade flashing.
Rukia's eyes widened as the Hollow's form registered. Vice-Captain Amamiya's warning echoed in her mind. "Ichigo! Be careful, that's—"
But he wasn't listening. The only thing in his world right now was saving his sisters.
With a clean sweep, he severed the creature's claw, pulling his sister free. Then his gaze locked on the Hollow's upper body—a small, black-haired girl's form protruding from its head.
"You! Six years ago, you were on the riverbank… how could you be with a Hollow?!"
Grand Fisher's false "girl" head tilted, its voice sweetly mocking. "A Shinigami… again. But no, boy… you've got it all wrong."
"Be careful, Ichigo! She's not human—this appearance is just the lure on its head!" Rukia-san rushed to his side, voice sharp with urgency.
"Lure…?" Ichigo quickly turned his head, eyes narrowing.
"Oh? You figured me out already?" The girl's delicate features cracked like broken porcelain, peeling away to reveal a grotesque, masked tentacle writhing in the wind.
"Since you've seen my true face…" Grand Fisher's distorted voice gurgled, "I can't let you leave, Shinigami."
"Ichigo," Rukia's tone dropped to something deadly serious, "its codename in Seireitei records is Grand Fisher. One of the most cunning Hollows known. It uses mimicry to lure spiritually aware humans, then devours them. Even experienced Shinigami have fallen to it."
Her eyes flickered. And… there's that abnormal reiatsu Vice-Captain Amemiya warned me about. If this thing really had defeated a Shinigami in Shikai, today could turn fatal.
"Ichigo, it's very strong, you need to be—"
But Ichigo had already dashed forward, zanpakutō gripped tight.
"Bakayarō! Too reckless!" Rukia shouted after him, but Ichigo wasn't listening. He'd heard enough to know—this Hollow was tied to the day his mother died. That was all that mattered.
Grand Fisher's sneer deepened. Compared to the Shinigami it had fought before, this boy was still green. Its severed arm regenerated instantly, snapping forward like a whip to grab him.
Rukia began chanting, fingers curling into an incantation seal. "Byakurai—"
"Don't interfere, Rukia! This… is my fight!" Ichigo barked over his shoulder, his voice striking something deep in her chest.
Her hands froze mid-chant. The words brought back memories she didn't want to remember. Vice-Captain Amamiya's voice echoed in her mind—words from Mt. Carp Reclining, before she'd come to the Human World.
...
"Frankly, Kuchiki-san, I disagree with Captain Ukitake's stance," Amamiya had said calmly. "Your reaction back then was correct. The lives of comrades come first."
"What? Are you saying fighting for dignity isn't important?" Rukia had retorted.
"My dignity," he'd replied without hesitation, "is not letting my comrades die. I can't just stand by and watch a comrade walk into certain death alone. Those who abandon their comrades are nothing but scum."
"That's… that's just sophistry…" she'd whispered, unable to find a rebuttal.
"Then tell me, Rukia—would you rather watch your comrade die right in front of you?"
"I…"
"Forget dignity or no dignity. If you can't decide… trust your instincts. Your true heart will never deceive you."
...
Rukia's gaze sharpened. Thank you… Miyako Amemiya. I'm sorry, Captain Ukitake, Vice-Captain Kaien… I still don't fully understand fighting for dignity.
But I know this much—I won't let my comrades die again.
She raised her hand, reiatsu flaring despite its weakness.
"Sealed in darkness… cut the throat of the one who defies you!" she whispered.
"Bakudō #9: Geki!"
The air shimmered crimson as the paralysis rope lashed around Grand Fisher's body, halting its swing toward Ichigo.
"Now, Ichigo!" she yelled.
Ichigo didn't hesitate. In one fierce motion, his zanpakutō carved downward, splitting Grand Fisher's mask and body clean in two. The Hollow's scream dissolved into the falling rain as it disintegrated into spirit particles.
Breathing hard, Ichigo kept his gaze on the fading remains. "…Didn't I tell you not to interfere, Rukia-san?" he muttered, head lowered.
Rukia gave a small, tired smile. "Gomen. You can yell at me later… or hit me if you like. I just… couldn't watch my comrade die."
"…Baka…" Ichigo sighed, the anger in his voice already fading. His knees buckled, and he sank onto the wet ground beside her.
Rain mixed with the tears on his face—whether from pain, grief, or relief, even he couldn't tell.