Karakura General Hospital.
A faint light spilled from a room inside the quiet hospital, where the hour for sleep had already passed.
The patient in the room was Uryu Ishida. Having had his wounds healed by Orihime Inoue, he was now secretly making preparations for the coming battle.
The attackers have made their move.
Ever since Ichigo Kurosaki lost his powers, a strange spiritual pressure had been clinging to him. While trying to uncover the truth behind it, Uryu had been blindsided and defeated by a mysterious human psychic.
(We've all been caught in someone's web...)
The most alarming part was the testimony from Orihime and Chad. Both remembered being slashed by someone, yet unlike Uryu, they hadn't suffered any actual physical injuries.
Uryu puzzled over their description of the incident as a "waking dream." Why was he the only one with a physical wound? Or were the methods used against them entirely different?
Regardless, the enemy's goal was made clear by the restless movement of their spiritual pressure.
It was Ichigo Kurosaki.
(Ichigo's spiritual power is returning. If I assume the worst based on that fact...)
Uryu's sensory abilities, spread throughout the town, firmly grasped Ichigo's spiritual signature.
But at the same time, he felt the presence of that "mysterious attacker" near him. There was no way the man who had struck Uryu would spend so much time around Ichigo without an agenda. He almost certainly had a malicious intent.
...Ichigo was likely being deceived. He might have accepted help to regain his powers, but with his good-natured personality, he would open his heart to them far too easily.
Uryu stood from his bed to check his condition, determined to settle the debt for his foolish friend.
"A bit late to be making decisions, isn't it, Uryu?"
While he was changing into his uniform, the door to the private room opened, and a doctor appeared. It was Ryuken Ishida—the director of the hospital and Uryu's father, a fellow Quincy.
"...The situation has changed. Things are getting ugly around Kurosaki."
"It's always noisy around those two. You only get caught up in it because you ignore my warnings."
Uryu scowled at his father's sarcasm. Ryuken was likely referring to his continued involvement with the former Soul Reaper, but as far as Uryu was concerned, it was just a stubborn, unbreakable bond.
However, a certain word caught his interest. He turned back to his father.
"Were you... an acquaintance of Ichigo's father?"
"Not an acquaintance. Just a stubborn bond."
"I... I see..."
Uryu's face twitched at his father's sudden shift in mood. If their relationship was anything like his own with Ichigo, he could understand perfectly why his father's demeanor had soured.
Having no desire to continue the conversation, the youth slipped the Quincy Cross bracelet onto his wrist and headed for the exit.
"Uryu."
"...What?"
As he left, Ryuken spoke a few words that were impossible to ignore—and even less pleasant to hear.
"Don't get too deep into this."
—Kisuke Urahara is making his move.
Uryu frowned at the implication, leaving the hospital in silence.
Bracing himself against the cool May night wind, Uryu sprinted toward his destination. A surge of negative emotion—one that was unlike his usual self—welled up in his chest.
Honestly, every single person involved was acting too selfishly.
The Soul Society, which had decided Ichigo was better off powerless. Kisuke Urahara, who went along with it. And then the "guardians" who only started acting once Ichigo accepted a deal from a suspicious stranger.
Even Ichigo's father and sisters, in their desire to protect him, were only interested in maintaining the status quo. Not a single person would face Ichigo's true feelings.
...Whatever happens to Ichigo is his own business. If he gets deceived, it might be the only way to teach a fool like him a lesson.
But.
"I won't forgive a piece of trash who toys with the heart of a person who has lost their power to fight."
Uryu Ishida had once gambled all of his spiritual power in the Soul Society to avenge his grandfather. To him, who had spent his own share of days in a state of helplessness, the conspiracy surrounding Ichigo Kurosaki was an "evil" he could not overlook.
＊＊＊
Inside the XCUTION hideout in Naruki City.
The sound of clashing blades echoed within the specialized training ground created by Yukio's Fullbring, Invaders Must Die.
"—Damn it! What are you... what the hell are you?!"
Ichigo desperately parried a storm of slashes. Struggling against the clear difference in skill, he shouted his frustration at Kugo Ginjo, who was in charge of this training session.
"Ichigo!"
"No can do. The healer's job is already over."
"! Orihime—Gah?!"
Ichigo tried to run to help Orihime, who was trapped in a cage of Fullbring, but a sudden kick sent him flying.
"Where are you looking, coward?"
"Cough...! You... Ginjo, you bastard..."
"Good grief. When did you become so soft that you'd take your eyes off your opponent mid-fight?"
Ichigo glared at the man who was looking down at him with an exasperated gaze. He didn't understand why this was happening.
Ginjo had blinded him, taken the visiting Orihime hostage, and was forcing him into a battle that felt more like torture. This was nothing like the brutal training of Kisuke Urahara or Shinji Hirako. This man wielded a blade that felt uncanny—devoid of both malice and goodwill.
An instinctive sense of wrongness made Ichigo hesitate to trust Kugo Ginjo.
"...'You don't fully trust me'? What are you talking about?"
The man's eyes turned cold as ice.
"Then let me ask you: why did you accept our invitation?"
"What...?"
"Did you think you could use us even without trusting us? Did you think that as long as you got your power back, you could escape even if we betrayed you?"
As Ginjo spoke, his face twisted with contempt.
"—Idiot."
"Gah?!"
A surge of incredible pain. Ginjo's greatsword had pierced through Ichigo's Fullbring-clad robes and buried itself deep into his shoulder.
"How many times do you have to get hurt before you learn? This is exactly why Urahara and the other Soul Reapers used you, then threw you away the second they were done with you!"
"...Ugh... gah..."
"Maybe that was fine when you were the 'Hero of the Spirit World.' But where is that power now? Do you really think you can jump blindly into the den of people you don't trust and expect to escape unharmed? Don't get cocky, you weakling who just awakened your Fullbring!!"
"AAAAAAARRRRGHHH!!"
Ichigo was pinned to the floor by the greatsword in his shoulder. An immense amount of blood stained the floor red.
As he gasped in agony, Ginjo began to speak in a monotone voice.
"...Ichigo. Unlike you, who lived in the light and were pampered by the Soul Reapers, we Fullbringers have always lived in the shadows."
"Wha...?"
"The Soul Reapers, the Hollows, the humans—everyone is an enemy. The only ones we can trust are our own kind. Now that Tsukishima has betrayed us, we have to stand together more than ever to make our dreams come true."
Then.
The current leader of the organization issued a final ultimatum to his potential recruit.
"Do you understand? If we accept a rank amateur like you who doesn't have a shred of survival instinct, our XCUTION will be..."
Ichigo was stunned by his words.
The elaborate communication system, the multiple hideouts, the "secret society" name they used—they weren't doing it for fun.
And so, Ichigo finally realized the truth.
The Fullbringers who had reached out to him were "weaklings" who had been shunned by the world for that long.
"...Honestly, you're a lost cause. I can't believe the current Substitute Soul Reaper was such a pampered brat. All our plans are down the drain. Dammit."
As Ginjo spat out those hateful words, Ichigo couldn't find a single thing to say in return.
...But. Ichigo was struck with a wave of terror at the man's next declaration.
—I'm going to kill Chad and Orihime.
"Now that I know you're a cancer to this organization, I can't let the three of you who know about us live."
"S-Stop it...!"
"If you want to blame someone, blame your own carelessness. Don't worry—I'll make sure to kill you last."
It was a cold-blooded decision, yet one that felt like an unavoidable necessity.
...But no matter the logic, Ichigo could not allow it.
He grabbed the greatsword impaled in his body, desperately trying to pull himself free.
"I... won't let you...!"
Blood flowed from his shoulder like a waterfall. A scream of protest from the girl in his head echoed in his mind. But he continued to struggle.
The burden Ichigo had carried began on the day he let his mother die. That burden had not changed even after becoming a Fullbringer.
The power he sought was always for the sake of protecting the people he cared about.
"...Please... lend me your strength...!"
Ichigo pleaded with the chains of the Fullbring he held. He spoke to the masked girl who was suffering from a painful internal conflict.
"I know it's too soon...! I know you're holding back your power so I don't get hurt, just like Zangetsu did...!"
Through the chains, he could feel her shaking her head frantically, warning him of the danger. Was her hesitation born from a deep love, having watched over Ichigo since he was an infant?
But.
But he was tired of it. He was tired of losing someone right in front of him. He was tired of being too weak to save the people he loved.
Ichigo reached out with everything he had toward the power boiling in the depths of his soul.
"Let me use it...! The power to stop Ginjo...!"
The power to protect them!!
...Immediately after that roar of resolve.
The girl closed her trembling eyes and slowly opened them.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGHHHH!!"
"...!"
A massive storm of light erupted from his chest. A spiritual pressure so intense it seemed to crack and splinter the surrounding space blew outward, making Ginjo's eyes go wide.
The spiritual pressure around him and his own senses became sharp in an instant. The sound of his own flesh and bone tearing and breaking echoed throughout his body. It was a level of pain similar to when he fought Aizen—an agony as if his entire body were being incinerated by his own spiritual pressure.
But in exchange, the massive amount of spiritual power he drew forth easily granted Ichigo his freedom.
"GINJOOOOOOOOO!!"
Forcing his breaking body to move, he yanked the greatsword out of his own shoulder...
And so, to protect his friends, Ichigo swung the life-risking power he had drawn forth at his enemy.
"—Well done. A success."
A massive explosion swallowed everything.
Inside the white smoke of the burning air, the first thing Ichigo saw was Kugo Ginjo's smile, twisted in pain, as he held onto Ichigo's arm—the arm that was channeling the life-risking spiritual pressure.
"At the moment a Fullbring is completed, the souls that have been stored within the tool are released all at once. If someone doesn't step in and suppress that force, the user's body won't hold out."
"You... stepped in...?"
"I had to make sure you completed your Fullbring right in front of me, no matter what, so I could act as the target for the soul power you released."
Kugo Ginjo was covered in painful burns, his face having returned to its former reliable, older-brother expression. Realizing that the self-destructive spiritual pressure that had been swirling around him was gone, Ichigo was stunned by his words.
"You mean... from the very beginning...?"
"Sorry about that."
—I guess we're both "softies," Ichigo.
The man chuckled, self-deprecatingly saying, "I guess I could never be a leader like Tsukishima." Yet his eyes were clear and devoid of regret.
＊＊＊
"—Thanks. You saved me."
About a day had passed since his power awakened.
Ichigo, who had recovered along with Ginjo thanks to Orihime's treatment, offered his thanks alongside his partner, the masked girl. It seemed it was true that he would have been in danger without the man's intervention; immediately after the incident, the girl had been so relieved that her legs had given out.
"We're in a hurry too. Sorry for pushing you so hard."
"...No, you were right. I didn't have enough of a sense of danger. I'll be careful."
"Please do. Tsukishima is a different kind of trouble than Aizen. You can't be too cautious."
They shook hands once more, and the conversation turned to Ichigo's Fullbring.
"Your power was completed in yesterday's training. But at this rate, the power is too great for your body to handle."
"I figured... so, I need to build up my physical strength?"
"That's the idea. It's going to be tough, so be ready."
Unable to argue with the masked girl who was nodding in his head, Ichigo reluctantly set to work pushing his muscles to their limits.
"—You regained your 'Spiritual Sensory' abilities from your Soul Reaper days once your Fullbring was completed, didn't you?"
Several days had passed since they began training in Yukio's room. Ichigo had received many explanations from Ginjo during their breaks.
The "Final Getsuga Tensho" was the reason he lost his power. However, it was technically impossible to funnel every last drop of that massive spiritual power into a single technique; remnants of his Soul Reaper power were left scattered throughout his soul. Therefore, Ginjo had sought to use the nature of Fullbring to stimulate those remnants that hadn't been bound within the "Mugetsu."
"Thoughts and will are the power of the soul. Your 'Substitute Badge,' which became the final symbol of your pride as a Soul Reaper, was the perfect focal point to gather those feelings."
"...So I needed to gain the power of Fullbring, which can awaken the 'soul of an object,' to make that happen."
Having finished his training, Ichigo stared at his badge while waiting for his exhaustion to fade.
"Well then. Think you can do it now?"
"...!"
"It'll be tough to maintain for long, but you should be able to fight at full power in a short-term battle of a few minutes."
With the help of Orihime's ability, he had spent several days building up his physical strength at an incredible density that rivaled Urahara's lessons. From here on, the only way forward was to get used to it through actual combat.
...This is my Fullbring.
Receiving the seal of approval from the partner in his heart, Ichigo made up his mind and activated his badge—
＊＊＊
With the Fullbring training complete, Ichigo and Orihime returned to the World of the Living from the space of Invaders Must Die. Savoring the feeling of having overcome a major obstacle, they looked toward Chad and the other XCUTION members waiting at the hideout.
"...Welcome back."
"Judging by your face, it looks like it went well."
"Yukio, Jackie. Thanks for everything."
Ichigo bowed to the boy and the woman who had helped with his training. The two looked away awkwardly.
"...You're welcome."
"?"
Ichigo felt a small sense of wrongness. He didn't know Yukio very well, but it was rare for the blunt Jackie to act so humble.
"What's with you two? Did something happen?"
At Ginjo's suspicious question, the elderly bartender answered with his usual composed face. If he remembered correctly, his name was... Giriko Kutsuzawa.
"You're just being naive, Ginjo. Now that the training is over, the battle with Tsukishima begins."
"...What, are you getting cold feet?"
"The time we spent with him is a part of our past. And the past is a 'curse' that even the God of Time cannot take away. Even if he is a traitor, the fact that he was once our comrade remains. That is all."
Ichigo and the others were silent at Giriko's words.
Fighting a comrade who had defected—that was a pain the young man knew all too well.
The only ones who could answer the feelings of the XCUTION members were Ichigo and his friends.
"—I'll be the one to fight."
Clenching his Substitute Badge, Ichigo made his declaration.
The eyes of Orihime, Chad, and everyone else in the room focused on him.
"...I'll fight too. We're the ones with the fewest ties to Tsukishima, so it's best if we handle it."
"Yeah. He needs to settle the debt for laying a hand on us."
"Orihime... Chad...!"
Determined to avenge Uryu and their other friends, his two reliable companions stood up.
To Ginjo and the others, Tsukishima might be an enemy, but he was still one of their own. They needed to make him atone for his crimes, have him explain why he betrayed them, and then decide how to move forward.
With that, Ginjo and the others lowered their heads with somber expressions.
"...I'll see you out. Orihime, Chad, you should get home before it gets too late."
"Ginjo..."
"I'll make sure the others are ready. Give me a little time."
Following Ginjo, who looked somewhat ashamed as he led the way, Ichigo and the others left the hideout.
...Just before they left, Ichigo turned back at a faint voice he thought he heard.
—I'm sorry.
Through the closing gap of the door, the members of XCUTION were watching them, their faces as expressionless as masks.
†††
After thanking Ginjo for seeing them part of the way and parting with Chad and Orihime, Ichigo hurried through the familiar streets alone.
It was already past 2:00 AM. Since his father was out somewhere, he could ignore his curfew, but it pained him to worry Yuzu and Karin.
Praying that the lecture from his likely-furious sisters would be short, the young man looked down at his Substitute Badge as he ran through the night.
...It's complete. My Fullbring.
The feeling of being suppressed was gone; it was a true, perfect form. According to the masked girl, he shouldn't overdo it, but she was clearly overjoyed herself, despite her impulsive nature. Ichigo, who had felt inadequate because he couldn't draw out his partner's power due to his own lack of strength, felt a surge of youthful excitement.
"...Crap, they're still awake!"
Ichigo ducked his head as he saw the light from the living room window beneath the Kurosaki Clinic sign.
He quietly unlocked the front door and peeked inside, offering a sheepish "I'm home."
"Welcome back!"
To his surprise, his younger sister ran over to him with a beaming smile.
"Thank goodness! You're finally back, Ichigo!"
"Uh... yeah... sorry I'm late..."
Caught off guard, Ichigo was confused by Yuzu's high energy.
"...What's with you? You're in a great mood."
"'What's with me?' We have a long-lost guest today!"
"A long-lost guest?"
Ichigo tilted his head, unable to think of any close—or rude—person who would visit at this hour.
"Hehe! Who do you think it is? Here's a hint: it's one of our cousins!"
"A cousin?"
He was even more confused. He didn't remember meeting any relatives even at his mother's funeral, yet there was no sign of a joke or doubt on Yuzu's face.
"There's only one person it could be!" she said, before skipping happily into the living room.
"Shu-chaaan! Ichigo is home!"
"'Shu-chan'? Who the hell is—"
Ichigo followed his sister around the corner into the hallway.
And then, he froze.
"...Surprised?"
"It's been a while!"
"Not since Grandpa Rin's memorial service!"
Yuzu's voice sounded distant as she said those nonsensical things.
And for good reason. Every shred of Ichigo's consciousness was being sucked into the scene before him.
There, sitting on the living room sofa, was a man.
Deep black hair that looked perpetually damp.
A long-sleeved dress shirt with suspenders and black suit trousers.
A seated height that towered over the back of the sofa.
And...
The slender man—Shukuro Tsukishima—was staring at him with eyes darker than a bottomless abyss, looking perfectly at home in Ichigo's own house.
***
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