Kaito didn't know exactly what Ichigo was anticipating, but since the boy was so terrified, there was no need to force him. After all, he was only eight or nine years old.
Kaito ruffled Ichigo's orange hair, straightened up, and prepared to head toward the clinic alone.
But a sudden shift in the air made him frown.
Rumble!
Just as a sharp crack of thunder echoed through the overcast sky, a heavy wave of malice and resentment erupted from a building not far away.
Beneath Kaito's hand, Ichigo began to tremble violently. The boy desperately grabbed onto Kaito's clothes, his voice thick with panic. "Let's go, quickly! Mom is still sick, I can't rest here. We have to go!"
With that, Ichigo lunged forward, trying to drag Kaito in the exact opposite direction of the rising spiritual pressure.
Kaito glanced over his shoulder. A grotesque phantom was crawling onto a nearby roof, roaring and howling into the grey sky. It looked like a newly born Hollow, driven by raw, frenzied instincts. A creature that weak could only threaten ordinary humans; any Shinigami with even a shred of spiritual power could take it down effortlessly.
Yet, judging by Ichigo's extreme reaction, he could see the Hollow clearly, and the sight terrified him.
Kaito dug his heels in and stopped moving. The sudden resistance startled Ichigo, who was desperate to flee. Without turning around, the boy urgently pleaded, "What are you waiting for? My mother is still sick! Hurry up and move!"
"But Ichigo, you're going the wrong way," Kaito pointed out calmly. "This is the path back home. We haven't even bought the medicine yet."
In his sheer anxiety, Ichigo's instincts had simply driven him toward his safe haven, which was why he was heading straight back to the house. But the Hollow was currently drifting toward the clinic. There was no way Ichigo would willingly walk toward it.
"I... I forgot what illness Mom has!" Ichigo stammered, scrambling for an excuse. "Let's go back and ask her before we buy it."
In Ichigo's limited experience, whenever he encountered these monsters, they usually vanished if he left and came back to the same spot later. He figured that if they just ran away now, it would be safe to return after the creature moved on.
"Ms. Kurosaki just has a common cold. What is there to forget?" Kaito teased lightly. "Let's go, Ichigo. Don't be stubborn. Unless... are you afraid of something?"
Ichigo cast a fearful glance over his shoulder. The monster seemed to be aimlessly searching for something in the distance, completely unaware of their presence.
He tightly gripped Kaito's hand again. "I just remembered there's another clinic further away. Their medicine is better. Let's go there instead!"
Kaito checked the time on his phone. They had already been out for a while, and Masaki was waiting for her medicine. He couldn't keep messing with the kid; he needed to wrap this up and get back.
With that in mind, Kaito leaned down, scooped Ichigo up into his arms, and murmured softly, "Don't worry, Ichigo. Everything will be fine with me here."
Kaito burst into a stride, moving directly toward the clinic.
The moment he moved, the Hollow spotted them. In the eyes of a Hollow, Kurosaki Ichigo was an absolute delicacy. His massive, unsuppressed spiritual energy radiated an intoxicating aroma, acting like a beacon for hungry spirits.
"Roar!"
The Hollow bellowed, pivoting instantly to charge right at them. The monstrous roar and its hideous, twisting form completely shattered what was left of Ichigo's composure.
"Don't go over there! There's a monster!" Ichigo screamed, bursting into tears in Kaito's arms. "Don't go any closer! There really is a monster!"
Kaito ignored the warnings. He reached out, gently turning Ichigo's head so it was buried securely against his chest. "It's alright, Ichigo," Kaito said with a relaxed chuckle. "No monster can hurt you."
After all, I am your sensei.
"Blue."
Kaito raised a single finger, softly uttering the technique's name.
Instantly, the charging Hollow froze, a primal instinct warning it of a lethal crisis, though it couldn't perceive where the threat was coming from. Before it could react, an overwhelming gravitational pull seized its entire form. No matter how much it thrashed or mobilized its spiritual energy, it couldn't break free.
The creature didn't last a single second. Its entire body was crushed and imploded into nothingness by the localized gravity of "Blue"—and Kaito hadn't even used a fraction of his maximum output.
Once the Hollow vanished from existence, Kaito slowed his pace and spoke to the trembling boy. "Take a good look, Ichigo. Are there really any monsters left?"
Ichigo kept his face buried firmly in Kaito's shirt, refusing to look up no matter what.
Amused, Kaito had no choice but to set the boy down on his feet. He gently but firmly pried Ichigo's hands away from his eyes.
Ichigo peeked out cautiously. After scanning the empty street and confirming that the terrifying creature was completely gone, he let out a massive sigh of relief.
"Is it really... really gone? Kaito, did you destroy that monster?"
Kaito didn't give a straight answer. He simply raised an eyebrow and said playfully, "I have no idea what you're talking about. But if we don't get this medicine back soon, I highly doubt Ms. Kurosaki is going to believe we were held up by a monster on the road."
Ichigo blinked, his expression turning entirely bewildered, before he muttered, "Okay, fine. Let's just go quickly."
As they reached the clinic, Ichigo was still visibly hesitant to step inside, so Kaito left him at the entrance and went in to purchase the medicine himself.
When the two returned home, they found Masaki Kurosaki outside, weakly sweeping the porch. She would sweep a few times, then pause to catch her breath, clearly far from recovered.
Just as her knees buckled slightly, Kaito bolted forward and caught her by the arm to support her weight. Ichigo rushed over an instant later, steadying her from the other side.
"Mom, you're sick! You should be resting," Ichigo scolded, his voice full of worry. "Why are you out here sweeping the floor?"
Masaki offered a weak, apologetic smile. "It was windy today, and so many dead leaves fell in front of the door. I thought I'd clean them up since I could still move around a bit."
As Ichigo and his mother spoke, Kaito's expression grew serious.
He hadn't sensed it earlier, but holding Masaki's arm now, he realized just how dangerously frail her spiritual stamina had become. More concerningly, a distinct, foreign pulse of power was faintly fluctuating within her soul.
Is Yhwach already initiating the Auswählen? Is he beginning to strip away the power of the Gemischt[1] Quincy?
Kaito's brow furrowed. First Aizen, and now Yhwach. It seemed the universe was determined to ruin his plans for a peaceful, quiet retirement.
Once the Quincy power within Masaki's body was forcibly extracted by Yhwach, her soul would lose its internal balance, leaving her entirely defenseless against the lingering erosion of the Hollow White within her. That collapse was the true reason she would ultimately fall to the Grand Fisher in the original timeline.
Unfortunately, Kaito didn't possess a way to halt the Auswählen or stabilize a broken soul yet.
To counteract something as absolute as soul suicide or a divine extraction, he would need a flawless application of the Reverse Cursed Technique. But he hadn't fully unlocked that part of Gojo Satoru's arsenal.
Moreover, this wasn't a conversation he could have in front of a child.
"Ichigo, let's get Ms. Kurosaki inside so she can rest," Kaito suggested, breaking the heavy silence. "The two of us can finish up the cleaning out here."
"Okay," Ichigo agreed readily.
Together, they helped Masaki into the house and ensured she lay down comfortably. After watching her take the medicine Kaito had bought, the two went back outside to finish sweeping the fallen leaves.
They worked in relative silence for a while, sweeping the debris into neat piles. Suddenly, Ichigo spoke up, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Kaito... you can see those monsters, right?"
Kaito paused. He turned around to find Ichigo sweeping the ground with his head firmly down, refusing to look up.
Kaito walked over, gave Ichigo's head a light, reassuring pat, and smiled. "What kind of nonsense are you talking about now, brat?"
"You could see it," Ichigo insisted, stopping his broom and finally looking up, his eyes intense. "And you were the one who made that monster disappear, weren't you?"
Kaito didn't confirm or deny it. Instead, he casually dropped into a cross-legged position right on the porch, looking Ichigo dead in the eye.
"Tell you what," Kaito said with a smirk. "If you formally call me 'Sensei'—and actually mean it this time—maybe I'll give you a serious answer."
Ichigo stared down at the ground, tightly clutching his broom handle. He seemed to be gathering every ounce of courage in his small body before he finally spoke.
"Actually... that wasn't the first time I've seen a monster like that."
[1] mixed-blooded