Everyone had different reactions after seeing Yuta.
Kurosaki Yuzu looked at Yuta with wide eyes, stunned for a moment.
Yuta gently placed his hand on Yuzu's head before setting her down on the ground. A warm light shimmered in his hand immediately after.
Kurosaki Yuzu felt the light envelop her completely. Its warmth eased the pain in her body, as if she were being cradled in her mother's arms.
She looked up at Yuta in awe, not blinking once. In that moment, he was the person who had appeared at her side when she was in danger-the one who had saved her, like the prince from one of her fairy tales.
"You… what's your name?" she asked softly.
"Yuta," he replied.
Yuzu pressed her small hand over her chest, silently mouthing the name to herself as if trying to keep it close to her heart.
Yuta glanced around at the number of injured nearby. It looked like healing each person individually would take too long.
He stood upright. The healing light in his hand expanded until it covered the entire room.
Rukia Kuchiki's expression shifted to one of visible astonishment. Even someone skilled in Kaidō couldn't always manage healing one person quickly, much less multiple at once. To treat this many people simultaneously was unheard of.
When Kaidō was first created, it was designed to be intricate-a delicate method of treating spiritual bodies. In the same way one surgeon handles one operation at a time, Kaidō users traditionally healed one target at once. No matter how skilled the healer, limits existed.
Yet Yuta had pushed Kaidō past what anyone thought possible. He hadn't just mastered it-he had developed it into another form entirely, achieving what should not be achievable.
Even so, that wasn't the only thing that surprised Rukia.
She hadn't expected someone who had just completed his Soul Burial internship to dispatch Hollow with one sword strike-and do so calmly.
He moved smoothly, without hesitation or delay. The blow was clean and final.
Though the Hollow hadn't been exceptionally strong, Rukia knew she couldn't have killed it with the same ease, and certainly not with that level of control and composure.
And then there was the other question-when had Yuta acquired two Zanpakutō?
At the moment the pitch-black blade was drawn, she had felt it-a deep, instinctive warning, as the air around her seemed to vanish. Her body froze, her vision blurred for half a second, and even her heartbeat felt as though it had stopped.
There had been no sense of purification in that blade's pressure. Instead, it radiated destruction-like the force that belonged to Quincy, not Shinigami.
In just one afternoon during his internship, what had happened to him?
How much had he changed? Was he the same person she thought she knew?
When the sensation passed, and she saw him again-wearing his school uniform and the white haori-he seemed different. Familiar, but distant. As if he stood within reach but could not be touched.
Inoue Orihime slowly pushed herself up from the wooden floor, blinking as she checked her body. The pain was already gone; the cuts had closed and stopped bleeding almost completely. She stared at the green light surrounding her, amazed.
"Is this… is this a miracle?" she asked, her eyes fixed on Yuta.
To someone who had not encountered the world of the Soul Society before, Yuta did seem almost divine-like someone who had descended from the sky, wielding powers beyond explanation.
Who was this person?
What kind of sword was that?
There was so much she didn't know-and so much she suddenly needed to understand.
All she knew now was that the light surrounding her felt warm, bright, and safe-like the light from dreams that banished the dark.
If she could have some special ability, I'd want it to be one that could heal everyone. At that moment, she heard Arisawa Tatsuki crying softly not far away, and she ran over to help her up.
Arisawa Tatsuki was seriously wounded-her arm had scraped across the ground and left behind deep bloody marks. There was dried blood smeared across her face, and her delicate skin looked torn even at the slightest touch, mingling with the gray and black dirt beneath her.
Inoue Orihime watched as those wounds gradually closed beneath the warmth of healing light.
She wiped the corners of her eyes. "Tatsuki, are you okay?"
Arisawa Tatsuki shook her head. "I'm fine… thanks to him."
Both of them stood up and bowed deeply toward Yuta. "Thanks, truly."
Yuta only nodded in acknowledgment, saying nothing in return.
Later, Kurosaki Karin's injuries were treated as well, and she immediately checked on her younger sister.
"Yuzu, how are you?"
Kurosaki Yuzu smiled and shook her head. "I'm fine. You're the one who's panicking…"
Kurosaki Isshin and Kurosaki Ichigo had also stood up by this point.
Kurosaki Ichigo approached Yuta, made a fist with his right hand, and tapped it against his chest. "Thanks, Yuta. You saved my life. If you're ever in trouble, come to me."
Yuta looked with interest at the man sitting on the ground-Ishhin Kurosaki, whose face was unshaven and overall carried the appearance of neglect that came with middle age.
Isshin Kurosaki-formerly Isshin Shiba-was once the captain of the 10th Division and descended from the noble Shiba family of Soul Society.
Yuta wondered just how much strength Isshin had left after spending so long living in the human world. Cutting down one Hollow should at least be easy for him.
He turned to Kurosaki Ichigo and spoke calmly. "You don't have to thank me. Even if I hadn't stepped in today, nothing would've happened to you."
"What…?" Ichigo looked confused, not understanding the meaning behind those words-until his father's foot collided with his face and sent him sprawling to the ground.
"Ichigo!"
Isshin stood tall over him. "Your performance just now was terrible. You've clearly been slacking in your training."
Kurosaki Ichigo groaned from the ground, not bothering to look up. "You're one to talk. Weren't you the first one to fall?"
Father and son began grappling again, rolling across the ground as usual.
Meanwhile, Kurosaki Karin turned her attention to someone she had noticed from the start-Rukia Kuchiki, standing silently at Yuta's side.
Oddly, she hadn't seen this girl speak or move the entire time. She appeared dazed, distant even.
"Hey, are you Yuta's friend?" Karin tilted her head. "It's rare to see anyone dressed like that…"
Inoue Orihime and Arisawa Tatsuki were caught off guard too. "Karin… who are you talking to?" they asked in unison.
Kurosaki Karin momentarily froze.
Was she the only one who could see the person standing there?
Yet the girl's figure looked completely solid. Rukia wasn't floating like most spirits; her feet were firmly on the ground.
"That's weird," Ichigo said, pinning his father mid-wrestle. "Hey… is she Yuta's girlfriend?"
Rukia's eyes widened in shock. She hadn't expected multiple people in this household to see her clearly.
Could it be that both of them possessed spiritual power? That would explain why they were being targeted by Hollow attacks…
Kurosaki Yuzu took her sister's hand and said softly, "I really envy you and Ichigo for being able to see spirits. All I see is their outline…"
Rukia turned toward Yuta and spoke in a low tone. "Do you want me to use the memory replacement potion?"
Memory replacement potions were used to conceal the existence of Shinigami by altering people's memories through random substitution.
Yuta simply smiled and walked to the end of the table, pulled out his chair, and sat down.
"There's no point in hiding it," he said firmly. "They're involved now too."
He tapped his fingers against the wooden table. "Everyone, please sit down. Rukia-go ahead and tell them the truth about this world."
Inoue Orihime placed both hands against her chest in uncertainty.
From the start of the conversation, nothing had made sense to her-or to Tatsuki beside her.
Spirits? Outlines? What kind of truth?
Why did it feel as if they'd wandered into some terrifying situation?
Even so, she tilted her head, smiling politely. "Umm… Tatsuki and I-are we even qualified to know about this? If we're not, we'll do as you say…"
Yuta answered softly, "It's alright. You and Tatsuki are already involved in what happened."
Kurosaki Yuzu and Natsuri sat down as well, visibly curious about what they were about to hear.
Kurosaki Ichigo remained silent. He pulled out his chair and looked at Rukia directly. "What is this? What's really happening?"
Kurosaki Isshin sighed as he sat cross-legged outside the group, choosing to listen from the sidelines. Even he hadn't expected peace in his home to be shattered so quickly.
At first, Orihime hadn't been able to see Rukia at full clarity. Slowly though, her spiritual senses adjusted. The faint outline became sharper, and finally, the full form of Rukia appeared in her vision.
"This… what's happening?" she gasped. "Tatsuki-look!"
She grabbed her friend's shoulders and shook her in excitement, drawing attention to the now-visible Rukia.
"I know, I know-I see it too. Stop shaking me," Tatsuki groaned as the world blurred around her.
Kurosaki Yuzu noticed the change as well. She could now almost make out Rukia's entire form.
"Huh? What is this?"
Yuta gently cradled his tea with both hands, the heat rising to his face as he calmly replied, "When I healed you earlier, I activated the spiritual power lying dormant in your bodies. Now that it's awakened, you're capable of seeing spiritual beings directly."
Rukia then stepped forward and began her explanation in earnest:
"My name is Kuchiki Rukia. I come from Soul Society, and I am what you might call…a Shinigami-a god of death."
"When people in this world die, their spirits typically become what we refer to as 'Plus' spirits-good souls with the potential to move on peacefully into the Soul Society."
"But for various reasons, some refuse to cross over, or are trapped by pain, regret, or hatred. Over time, these souls deteriorate and transform into malevolent spirits called 'Hollows'."
"One of my duties is to perform Konso-soul burials-to guide the Plus to Soul Society properly."
"My other duty is to cleanse the Hollows with my Zanpakutō and allow their souls to be purified and returned as well."
Kurosaki Ichigo scratched his chin. "Wait… So the monster that attacked us-that was one of those Hollows?"
Rukia nodded. "Yes."
Ichigo crossed his arms, visibly torn. "Honestly, this sounds impossible… but after what we just saw, I guess I have no choice but to believe it."
"The reason that Hollow came after you is because of the spiritual power residing within your body," she continued. "You're like nourishment to them-irresistible."
"Spiritual power?" Ichigo looked shocked. "Is that the reason I've been able to see Hollows?"
"As long as you carry spiritual energy," Rukia warned, "they will come for you again. This won't be the last time."
Her words struck Ichigo hard.
Again?
Would monsters like that continue to appear in the future?
Could he protect those around him when the time came?
Inoue Orihime raised her hand slowly. "Ah… I think I understand now…"
"Ichigo! Don't worry! Daddy's here to protect you!" Kurosaki Isshin suddenly leaped into the frame and tackled his son again.
Ichigo didn't resist this time. He stayed on the ground, thinking, too overwhelmed to fight back.
Earlier, had Yuta not appeared when he did… what would've happened to his sisters?
Inoue Orihime turned to Yuta curiously. "Yuta… are you also like Miss Kuchiki? Are you… also one of these gods of death?"
"Me?" Yuta looked down at the tea swirling in his cup.
His reflection stared back at him-a young man with defined features and calm eyes.
Was he truly Shinigami?
Or just human?
Or perhaps… neither?
After some silence, he smiled gently and set the cup down.
"You could think of me as Shinigami… or as human," he said. "Or you could think of me as…a god."
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