"What?!" Hearing what he said, Sora grew even angrier. "This is our house—why should we be the ones to move out?!"
"I already told you, didn't I? It's because you're my son!" The man spoke with open impatience. "Why do you have to be so annoying?!"
"Get out!"
Sora couldn't take it anymore. He shot to his feet, intending to shove the two of them right out the door.
However, just as he was about to lay hands on them, the man lashed out with a kick, sending Sora flying!
"Wah!"
Sora's body slammed into the wall behind him, his head striking hard enough to bleed.
"Big brother!"
Orihime, seeing this, cried out sharply and rushed toward him.
But halfway there, the woman grabbed her.
The woman brushed her fingers against Orihime's hand, a flash of jealousy glinting in her eyes.
"Your skin is indeed beautiful. But do you really intend to go against your parents' wishes?"
"Let me go!" Orihime struggled desperately. "I don't have parents, I only have my brother!"
Smack!
A vicious slap sent Orihime crashing to the floor. The woman spat and snarled, "Are you insane?! You little bitch, how dare you defy my orders!"
She grabbed Orihime by the hair and yanked her up. "You think just because people value you, you can ignore your parents? Speaking of which, you haven't slept with some manager from Brainleaf Co., have you? Is that why they favor you two so much?"
"Maybe you should introduce them to Mommy sometime?"
Orihime felt nothing but revulsion at the woman's words. She slapped her hard across the face, never expecting how terrifyingly strong this woman was.
Seeing Orihime's complete lack of cooperation, Sora and Orihime's mother kicked her in the stomach, sending her sprawling again.
"All right, that's enough for today," Sora's father said. "The soundproofing in this place is pretty good, but I'm hungry now. Have her cook."
"If you want food, make it yourself!"
Sora, his head still bleeding, forced himself up again. Roaring, he charged at his father.
"Idiot."
Sora's father was clearly a seasoned fighter. As Sora lunged, he merely sidestepped, then drove his elbow into Sora's back, knocking him to the floor.
He then planted his foot on Sora's head and ground down viciously. "You worthless brat. You dare defy your father? You really don't know what's good for you."
With that, he turned to Orihime. "I'm feeling kind of hungry now. Don't tell me you can't cook."
"I'm not cooking for you!"
"Oh?" He pressed his foot down again on Sora's head. "If you don't move, I'll just keep beating your dear brother."
"You…" Orihime trembled with fury. "You're shameless! He's your child!"
"If you understand that he's my child, then stop thinking you can defy me, you clueless little brats." He drove his foot into Sora's side again.
"Stop hitting him! I'll cook!" Orihime blurted quickly.
"That's better. Oh, and later, call your teacher and ask for two months off."
Orihime stiffened. "What are you planning to do?"
"Heh heh, to keep you and your stupid brother—my stupid son—from running your mouths out there, at least one of you is going to stay with us," Sora's father replied with a sly smile.
"Don't worry. We'll only be here for two months at most. After that, we're gone."
"You two… you really have no shame!" Sora gritted out, trying to rise, only to be forced back down by his father's foot.
Hearing that they would leave in two months, Orihime actually felt a tiny sliver of relief. "Fine, I'll call. Just stop hitting my brother!"
"We are your parents after all. We can't bear to go too far with you. As long as you don't go spreading rumors, I won't do anything to you."
Orihime nodded and walked into the kitchen.
Two months…
She just had to endure two months.
The apartment allotted to Orihime and Sora was large. It wasn't some massive luxury flat, but at over 150 square meters, it was plenty big.
Land in Karakura Town was worth its weight in gold these days, with prices exceeding 800,000 yen per square meter. A 150-square-meter place like this was beyond the reach of most people—no wonder Sora and Orihime's parents had gone insane over it.
And since it was so spacious, it could easily house four people.
Their parents took Sora's bedroom; Orihime had her own room; Sora was forced to stay in the study.
Furthermore, they locked Sora's room from the outside. If he wanted out, he'd need them to open it.
They had learned from the time Sora secretly took Orihime and ran. This time, they wouldn't let their guard down.
…
The next morning, bruised from head to toe, Sora left the house without breakfast.
Orihime prepared breakfast for the two adults, then went back to her room to rest. She had no desire to eat with them.
Sora and Orihime's parents didn't care. After Orihime left, her mother said, "Is it really okay to just let that kid go to work like this?"
"Don't worry. Orihime is his weak point. As long as we have her, he won't dare make any rash moves." Sora's father spoke casually.
Then the woman said, "Why did you tell them we'd move out after two months? This place is great. I don't want to leave."
"Idiot. I was just stringing them along," he said coolly. "If we sell this place, we'll get over a hundred million yen. That's more than enough for us to live comfortably for a while."
"Sora won't let us sell it!"
"What's the rush? Once he's dead, this place is ours." He sneered.
"If we kill him, the house naturally belongs to us. Then we sell it, take Orihime, and leave town. A hundred million… enough for us to live out our days in comfort."
Orihime, of course, had no idea what they were discussing at the door. She was simply praying time would pass faster—that in two months, she could finally be rid of them.
In truth, she had always been puzzled before: why did her brother insist on taking her away from that place, away from their parents?
Even though her brother had always told her their parents were devils, she'd been too young to fully understand.
It was only now, seeing them again ten years later, that Orihime understood what he had meant.
They were… demons.
Orihime gazed at the sun already risen high in the sky. Bright light came streaming through the window, seeming to chase away some of the darkness in her heart.
Two months…
She just had to last two more months.
...
"That's the situation."
In Soul Society, Rukia finished describing what had happened in Karakura Town to all the captains.
By now, most of the captains had recovered.
Even those who hadn't fully healed were well enough to attend a meeting.
Rukia felt nervous under so many captains' stares.
After all, she wasn't entirely sure what had happened, either. She had arrived in Karakura only moments before a gigantic hollow appeared in the sky—she hadn't even had time to catch up on the manga.
So all she could do was describe the previous battle.
Kurotsuchi Mayuri's tone was faintly mocking. "I find it unforgivable that you failed to bring that Quincy back."
"Give it a rest, Mayuri Kurotsuchi." Hitsugaya Tōshirō naturally stepped up to defend his division's lieutenant. He said flatly,
"You, the head scientist of Soul Society—after studying Quincies for hundreds of years, you still haven't fully figured them out. That title of yours is becoming a bit embarrassing."
"Mm…?"
Mayuri's gaze darkened, but before he could retort, Commander-Captain Yamamoto cut him off.
Yamamoto barked, "With something like this happening in Karakura Town, you waste time on such useless bickering?"
At a word from the Commander-Captain, everyone fell silent.
Once no one else spoke, Yamamoto continued. "Karakura Town is the double focus of the double-soul nexus. The reishi concentration was already close to saturation. After the death of the giant hollow, it rose again—enough to affect the balance of the three worlds."
"…Commander-Captain, didn't you say before that the reishi density in Karakura would not affect the outside world?" Kyōraku Shunsui asked, a bit surprised.
The reishi concentration in Karakura had been steadily increasing for some time, but it hadn't affected the balance before.
Why was it suddenly different?
"The Onmitsukidō has already been dispatched," Yamamoto said icily. "Perhaps they will uncover the cause when they return. For now… you may discuss it among yourselves."
"The reishi concentration in Karakura wouldn't affect the balance. That was the conclusion Mayuri and I reached after personally investigating Karakura years ago," Suì-Fēng said. "For there to be imbalance now means someone intentionally disrupted the special reishi cycle there."
"As if someone dragged Karakura Town, which had almost become independent of the human world, back into it."
Hearing this, Shunsui couldn't help saying, "If that's the case, then this is very similar to what happened in the western region back then."
At the time, Karakura and a western city had simultaneously manifested abnormal reishi phenomena, with Menos Grandes appearing constantly.
The 8th Division had been in charge of the western region. Their tests had found nothing unusual.
Or more precisely…
Whoever was behind it knew shinigami very well and hid themselves whenever a shinigami appeared, preventing any of them from exerting their full power.
In the end, they could only return to Soul Society.
At that time, the sharpened reishi concentration had affected the balance of the three worlds—that part matched Karakura's current situation.
So… could there be a connection?
Shunsui's comment gave them a new angle to consider. Zaraki Kenpachi, however, was growing impatient. "So, is there anyone worth cutting down?"
"Yes… very likely."
Hitsugaya's voice was low. "From Rukia's report, the suddenly appearing Shawlong Koufang was extremely powerful—an Arrancar of extraordinary strength."
"And I believe if we don't address the root of this situation, more such hollows will come to Karakura."
"That actually sounds fun." Zaraki's lips pulled back into a grin. He laughed loudly. "Hey, Commander-Captain Yamamoto! Send me to Karakura!"
"You are not needed for this matter," Yamamoto said coldly.
Send Kenpachi to the human world?
He had to be joking.
Would Kenpachi protect the human world, or destroy it?
On top of that, Zaraki was the one most heavily corroded by the black mud and had to receive weekly treatment from Unohana Retsu.
"Beasts are still beasts," Mayuri sneered. "Sit tight at home and wait. Naturally, this should be handled by my 12th Division."
"What did you say?" Kenpachi shot him a razor-sharp glare.
Seeing another argument on the verge of starting, Yamamoto roared, "Enough! The 12th Division will handle this. And until the Menos disappear, aside from the already-stationed 10th and 13th Division members, one more captain will be dispatched from each of these divisions."
"Captain Hitsugaya—one month from now, you will switch places with Captain Kamado in the human world."
Hitsugaya nodded.
Originally, the lower officers stationed in the human world rotated every three months, but a division couldn't go without a captain for long, so they'd changed the captain rotation to once a month.
…
"So it's really in a month?"
In the world of the living, Yoshio looked at the message on the communicator, anticipation stirring for the show that was about to begin.
In other words…
In one month, he'd get to watch a quite spectacular performance.
Right now, Tokinada didn't dare cause trouble in front of him—but before Hitsugaya, he wouldn't be so restrained.
So Yoshio figured that during this month while he was in the human world, Tokinada wouldn't make any new moves. Only when Hitsugaya came to take over would Tokinada start.
Which meant Yoshio didn't have much to do this month.
Well… nothing to do wasn't strictly true. Menos Grandes appeared constantly.
After all, Tokinada's hollow bait was still active, drawing large numbers of hollows to Karakura.
But with Yoshio present, dealing with them wasn't difficult. They were wiped out before they could cause harm.
The 12th Division and the Correction Corps arrived in Karakura, intending to fix the distortions there. During the month that Yoshio remained, their work went fairly smoothly."Smooth applied only to rebalancing the reishi, though. As for the hollow bait itself, it was hard to find.
Just because Nezuko could locate it easily didn't mean they all could. The entire 12th Division combined wasn't equal to one Nezuko.
So in a mere month, they were nowhere near identifying the true source of the anomaly.
After Yoshio returned, Hitsugaya and Kuchiki Rukia rotated into the living world.
At first, nothing major happened while the two were stationed in Karakura. But ten days after they arrived—
Hitsugaya and Rukia were patrolling on opposite sides of the town. That way, if any anomaly occurred in any direction, at least one of them would be close enough to respond.
Of course, that also meant that if one side ran into trouble, the other would take longer to get there. Still, with the power both of them possessed, they should have been able to hold out during that short delay.
Hitsugaya had just defeated a large hollow and landed on a rooftop when he noticed a human silhouette standing on a distant lamppost.
It was around three or four in the morning. Strictly speaking, the sun should have been shining brightly at that hour, yet the sky remained overcast.
Perhaps due to the frequent appearance of Menos over the last few days, the sky above Karakura seemed fused with a black hole, with occasional rumbles from the darkness.
So when Tōshirō saw that figure, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Who was that?
Who?
Hitsugaya frowned. He could sense an odd reishi from the man.
He immediately used shunpo to rush forward, but as he was about to reach the lamppost, the figure suddenly vanished.
Shunpo?
Tōshirō's pupils dilated. That had clearly been shunpo.
A shinigami?!
Damn it—Karakura was under strict lockdown. Aside from captains and lieutenants, no shinigami were allowed to enter. Tōshirō was certain he'd never seen this man before.
If he was a shinigami, why wasn't he wearing the standard uniform? Why didn't he have a zanpakutō?
But if he wasn't a shinigami, then the movement technique he'd used earlier had definitely been shunpo.
Hitsugaya suddenly realized this person might be the mastermind behind the anomalies in Karakura.
"Stop!"
He shouted, "If you don't stop, I'll be forced to act!"
The man, of course, had no intention of stopping just because of a warning and continued to use shunpo. Judging by speed alone, his mastery of shunpo was captain-class.
"Sit upon the frozen sky…"
Seeing the man still refuse to halt, Hitsugaya drew his zanpakutō, ready to use Hyōrinmaru to bind him.
But before his blade had even fully released, the figure, still in mid-shunpo, suddenly vanished again—only to reappear right in front of Hitsugaya.
Wait, that wasn't shunpo!
In that instant, the man had used a movement technique completely different from shunpo—he'd turned and appeared in front of Hitsugaya without any warning at all.
"Farewell."
The man's lips curled up slightly as he placed one hand on Hitsugaya's head.
"Cero."
?!
Tōshirō froze in shock.
Who the hell was this?
Why could he use Cero?!
He wasn't a shinigami?!
He had no time to think.
The Cero was already forming.
This wasn't a regular Cero either—it was a tremendously powerful black Cero.
It had to be said, the sequence of abnormalities that unfolded in that moment was simply too fast.
First he used shunpo to lure the opponent in, then, the moment his enemy relaxed to attack, he employed a movement technique surpassing shunpo to instantly appear before him, and unleashed an unexpected ability.
That entire combo could only mean one thing: whoever he was, he understood shinigami far too well.
Boom!
The black Cero fired, instantly engulfing Hitsugaya.
Tokinada narrowed his eyes. As the black Cero faded, Hitsugaya's body began to fall.
"With that, one of the two captains is down."
Watching Hitsugaya drop, Kagami Tokinada was quite pleased.
But there was still another captain in Karakura—and that one, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, was even more troublesome.
It didn't matter.
As the former director of the Visuals Department surveillance, Tokinada's job had been to monitor Seireitei.
He knew every shinigami there like the back of his hand.
Let's deal with this one first.
Tokinada descended slowly, looking at the seemingly unconscious Hitsugaya. He extended his hand, and a surge of violet energy gathered, forming into a massive sword.
The sword was far larger than a normal zanpakutō, its hilt adorned with a glaring, malevolent eye.
He swung the giant blade down, slicing Hitsugaya clean in half!
"…"
Yet even as Hitsugaya's body split, Tokinada felt no satisfaction.
Something had felt off the moment he attacked.
Sure enough, the bisected corpse began to change, its form melting into ice, even the spilled blood turning to water.
"…"
Tokinada's face darkened. He looked ahead and said, "You're quite the tricky one. I thought someone like you wouldn't use such underhanded tactics."
Hitsugaya appeared atop a nearby building, expression cold as he looked down.
"You really are an idiot. Charging straight in the moment you see your enemy—do you think a captain of the Gotei 13 would ever do something so reckless?"
Of course they would. That had been your personality.
Tokinada thought so, but he also knew the intel he'd collected was from twenty or thirty years ago.
For shinigami, twenty or thirty years wasn't much. But for a prodigy like Hitsugaya, that time was more than enough for drastic change.
He hadn't expected that not only Tōshirō's reiryoku and technique would evolve, but his tactics as well.
The ice clone he'd just seen was a more advanced form of substitution technique, created by using light refraction within ice, allowing it to mimic more complex movements.
A person like Tokinada, eccentric to the core, would never charge in blindly. It was one of the principles he'd learned under Yoshio back when he'd been 3rd Seat in the 5th Division.
Battles between shinigami are battles of information. Acting without intel is suicide.
So before engaging, Tōshirō had released his zanpakutō, and during the chase he'd quietly used ice-refraction to swap places with a clone version of himself.
"You seem to know a lot about shinigami. In that case, you should know a captain doesn't need an incantation to release his zanpakutō," Hitsugaya said calmly. "What's wrong? Does that confuse you?"
He hadn't recognized Tokinada at first sight—but it wasn't that he didn't know who Tokinada was.
The massacre of the Tsunayashiro clan's main house by its branch family had been a huge event in Seireitei. Any shinigami would have at least heard of it.
Tōshirō had read that report.
He knew what Tokinada had originally looked like.
But right now, Tokinada's appearance had drastically changed.
His hair was long and dark green, his face marked by purple lines, his frame thin and androgynous, his features surgically softened until he looked almost feminine.
Yes—he looked almost like a woman now.
He could change back anytime; this was just his battle form. For example, when he'd released the hollow bait in Karakura, he'd appeared in his regular form.
That was why Sōya Azashiro had immediately recognized him after seeing the sketch Nezuko had drawn.
"That was a good response. It seems I underestimated the present Gotei captains."
Tokinada chuckled softly. "But you don't seriously think you're my match, do you?"
He leveled his violet sword at Hitsugaya. "Hadō #63. Raikōhō-Cero."
!
Hitsugaya's pupils constricted. A surging bolt of lightning shot toward him.
What?!
This is… a fusion of kidō and Cero?!
How was that possible?
According to all previous battle data, even Arrancar had zanpakutō but couldn't use kidō.
They still fought like hollows: using sonido to move, hierro to defend, Cero to attack. Some even retained high-speed regeneration.
But this man was different.
He could use shunpo. He could use Cero. And now he was fusing Cero with kidō?
Impossible.
Wait—when he approached my ice clone, the step he used was neither pure shunpo nor sonido. It was a movement technique combining both.
No wonder he was so fast.
This man…
He'd perfectly fused shinigami and hollow combat techniques.
Facing the incoming Raikōhō-Cero hybrid, Hitsugaya could only swing his zanpakutō, summoning a massive ice dragon.
The dragon shattered instantly; the fused blast was too powerful.
Boom!
The thunderous force smashed through the ice dragon and slammed into Hitsugaya.
He was blown back hundreds of meters. Fortunately he'd been above and Tokinada below, so the blast went upward; the buildings beneath stayed intact.
From within the blast, Tōshirō staggered out. His body charred, he roared skyward.
"Bankai: Daiguren Hyōrinmaru!"
Facing such an overwhelming foe, he had no choice but to use Bankai.
Ten ice petals spiraled into existence.
At the instant he released his zanpakutō, a massive pall of black cloud spread over Karakura. A soul-freezing cold swept through every living being.
The already-dreary sky darkened further. The knife-like chill drove pedestrians back to their homes, and those already inside turned on their heaters.
They couldn't see Tokinada or Hitsugaya, but their battle was affecting the human world.
People started to notice. It was past winter—so why was it suddenly freezing?
Soft flakes began to fall, quickly thickening into a driving blizzard.
For Hitsugaya, this was good; his zanpakutō required massive amounts of moisture to unleash its full power.
Far away, Rukia felt Tōshirō's Bankai surge and accelerated toward him.
Whoever this was had actually forced Captain Hitsugaya to use Bankai.
The spiritual pressure rushing toward her left her shaken.
Such immense pressure…
?!
Rukia's pupils widened suddenly. She stopped dead—and a long sword speared down from the sky, slamming into the ground right where she'd been.
If she hadn't stopped, that blow would have killed her outright.
As the blade struck, a childlike figure appeared.
Calling him a kid was a bit ironic; Rukia herself was only 1.44 meters tall, about his height.
But his face was unmistakably that of a child, still soft with innocence.
That very innocence made Rukia's skin crawl. This boy had just tried to kill her without the slightest hesitation.
"As expected of Lady Kuchiki. My master spoke the truth. You really are the strongest lieutenant in the Gotei 13," the boy said. "My master is busy with something important. Please remain here and don't interfere, all right?"
"Your master?" Rukia instantly realized that this boy was subordinate to the man fighting the captain. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"My name is Hikone Ubuginu. You may address my lord as 'the Tyrant'!" Hikone said loudly. "I don't know what he's doing. He only ordered me to keep you here, Lady Kuchiki—to prevent you from intervening."
"Is that so?" Rukia took a single look at him and knew he really didn't understand anything—just a brainwashed tool.
She drew Sode no Shirayuki and said levelly, "My apologies, but what if I insist on leaving?"
"In that case…" Hikone Ubuginu also drew his own blade, his tone as mild as ever, "Lord Tokinada said you may be sliced into ten pieces."
"Sorry, but I don't plan on being divided into ten parts anytime soon. So… I'll just have to turn you into a popsicle."
"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!"
…
"What's going on?"
Kurosaki Ichigo walked home with his school bag slung over one shoulder.
Suddenly, a sharp chill washed over him. It was already May—even if it wasn't hot yet, why was it getting colder?
He turned south, frowning.
It was like…
Something over there was clashing against something else.
Should I go check?
After a moment, Ichigo sighed. He had to.
But just as he started south, he overheard a man and a woman talking as they walked by.
"I wonder what happened. That elementary school's under full lockdown."
"Yeah, I've never seen this many cops before."
Elementary school. Lockdown.
Those words froze Ichigo mid-step. He ran over and grabbed the man's shoulder.
"The elementary school—what happened there?!"
The man startled at Ichigo's urgency but answered instinctively. "I… I don't know. I just passed by and saw a lot of police. No idea what's going on."
"Thanks."
Ichigo let go and sprinted toward the elementary school.
Yuzu, Karin… you two better not be in trouble.
He was ready to explode from anxiety. Whatever was happening to the south vanished from his mind.
Compared to Yuzu and Karin, nothing else mattered.
At that moment, Ichigo was running so fast he nearly left the ground. To speed up, he even vaulted walls and cut straight through alleys.
Fortunately, the middle school he attended wasn't far from the elementary school—or from home. With his athleticism, he arrived in no time.
As the young couple had said, the area around the school was cordoned off.
Cops and patrol cars swarmed the perimeter, sealing it tight.
Crowded near the tape were parents. Ichigo instantly spotted his bearded father.
Kurosaki Isshin stood among them, looking unusually grim.
Ichigo's stomach dropped. He rushed over.
"Dad!"
He shouted, running up to Isshin.
Isshin turned. "What are you doing here?"
"Karin and Yuzu are inside, right?" Ichigo ignored the question, voice taut.
Isshin gave a bitter nod. "According to the police, there's a serial killer holed up in the school. He killed fourteen people in the western region, then fled to Tokyo, killed another thirteen before the police finally caught him. But just as they were about to arrest him, he realized something was off and slipped into the school, taking the teachers and students hostage!"
Ichigo almost blacked out.
He'd expected something bad, but a raving serial killer?
He shoved past Isshin, ready to dash in.
"Hey! Stop right there!"
A cop sprinted over, blocking his way.
"Can't you see this area's sealed? No one goes in!"
The officer raised a riot shield in front of him. Ichigo snapped, "My little sisters are in there! Get out of my way!"
"I understand how you feel, but we're in negotiations with the suspect. If you charge in now, you'll only make things worse!"
The cop wasn't just yelling at Ichigo; he was shouting to all the parents, trying to keep things under control.
Isshin came over and clapped a hand on Ichigo's shoulder, then shook his head slightly.
"Dad… we're just going to stand here and watch?" Ichigo asked hoarsely.
"What else can we do?" Isshin shook his head bitterly. "I know what you're thinking, but… just wait a bit longer."
"…," Ichigo's clenched fists slowly loosened. He stared at the line of police inside the tape, and the school beyond.
Then he suddenly took off running again.
"Ichigo, where are you going?!"
He didn't answer—just headed for a quiet corner he'd noticed earlier.
Back when he'd arrived, he'd seen a Plus there.
It looked like it had died in a traffic accident—very recently, and very young.
Ichigo stopped in front of the Plus. "Excuse me… could you do me a favor?"
The Plus jolted. "You… you're talking to me?"
"Of course I am."
"You can see me?!" the Plus asked again, stunned.
"I can see you," Ichigo said. "Do you have any regrets from your life? Something you haven't fulfilled? I can try to help—but I need your help first."
The Plus lit up. "That's great! My name is Inoue Sora. Can you save my sister?"
"Your sister?" Ichigo hadn't expected the other boy to want to save his little sister too. He immediately felt a sense of kinship. "Of course. But my sisters are in danger right now, too. Could you help me first?"
Sora had worried, but upon hearing that Ichigo was also desperate to save his sisters, he could only say, "Tell me what's happening."
"My sisters go to that elementary school. There's a psycho killer inside right now. I know Pluses can't intervene directly, but can you at least go in and check what's happening? I need to know if Karin and Yuzu are safe."
In reality, spirits could influence the physical world, but they needed strong spiritual power. The stronger the spirit, the more it could interfere—and inversely, the more resistance the physical world exerted.
Normal souls could pass through walls easily, like the ghosts people imagined. Stronger souls, however, would need spiritual techniques to phase through solid matter.
Up to now, every spirit Ichigo had seen was just an ordinary Plus. He didn't know they could interact physically at all.
"Okay. Describe what they look like."
After Ichigo described Karin and Yuzu, Sora raced toward the school.
He himself was terrified for his own sister. Without him at home, who knew how devastated Orihime would be?
And if he wasn't there, what would those beasts do to her?
Damn those monsters.
He'd been hurrying home in the bad weather, not expecting a car to whip around the corner and hit him.
He'd been careless, and ended up like this.
He'd seen his own corpse. He'd also seen the driver get out, confirm he was dead, and dump his body into a sewer.
Then Sora heard him place a phone call—to his own parents.
To those two beasts.