Kuchiki Rukia rushed into the room and took in the sight of a black-haired boy hammering his fists into a Hollow.
"Idiot, stop. That's not something you can fight."
Her face changed as she shouted.
Then she saw it. The Hollow about to break in was driven back out by the boy's twin-fisted barrage. No matter how it roared and lunged, he would not let it advance another step.
"You're kidding me."
Rukia stared, almost dazed.
Tachibana Yu drew back his bleeding fists, glanced at her, and smiled.
"What was that you were saying?"
Only then did Rukia realize he was the same human from earlier who nearly killed a Hollow with a single punch.
"I never thought a human could be this strong..."
With that thought, she strode toward Yu, smiling.
"Human, leave the rest to me."
"Alright, it's yours."
Yu nodded, shook the blood from his hands, and stepped aside. The sisters were safe now. There was no need to keep gambling with his life, and he was not truly a match for this Hollow anyway.
As Rukia slipped through the hole in the wall, Kurosaki Ichigo finally crawled over.
"Yu, are you okay?"
He stared at Yu's dripping hands, nerves taut.
"I'm fine," Yu said lightly. "It's just a Hollow. Scraped my knuckles a bit."
He glanced at Ichigo and could not help a laugh.
"So, you finally realized humans have limits and decided to stop being one? Is that why you turned into a worm?"
Ichigo's face darkened. He gritted his teeth, forced himself upright, and with a roar tore through the binding kidō wrapped around his arms.
With that done, the two of them stepped out through the blasted wall.
The street was dim.
Only the streetlights flickered weakly.
Facing the Hollow across the road, Rukia gripped her zanpakutō with both hands. Spiritual pressure surged from her body.
"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki."
In an instant, freezing air burst forth and swept across the entire block.
The old steel turned pure white.
Where the edge brushed the ground, it carved a line of frost that breathed tendrils of cold.
Yu and Ichigo had barely stepped outside when a wave of chill washed over them.
"Y-Yu..."
Ichigo gaped, pointing at Rukia.
Shikai... Yu's eyes burned. He wanted to be a Soul Reaper too. He wanted a blade that beautiful.
As the Hollow howled and charged, Rukia drew the blade lightly along the pavement.
"First Dance, Tsukishiro."
CRACK! CRACK!
A perfect white circle erupted from the ground, forming in an instant. In a heartbeat, the Hollow was frozen inside pure white ice.
Then the towering pillar shattered skyward. The Hollow shattered with it.
"It's over."
Rukia lowered the blade.
...
On the roof of Kurosaki Clinic.
Urahara Kisuke watched and hid a smile behind his fan.
"My my. That Hollow got cut down just like that. Captain Kurosaki, looks like your plan failed."
Beside him, Kurosaki Isshin stared helplessly at the figures of Rukia, Yu, Ichigo, and the sisters.
"I didn't see this coming."
The Hollow she had slain was one he had personally captured, one that had devoured more than seventy of its kind. Yet Yu had punched it clear out of the clinic.
"So, what now?"
Urahara's eyes crinkled as he glanced at Isshin.
"What else?" Isshin grumbled. "We bring in more Hollows. You still have bait, right?"
Urahara nodded, all smiles. He plucked a pill from his sleeve and crushed it between his fingers.
"I'm rather looking forward to it... the thing inside Kurosaki Ichigo."
...
"What?"
Rukia's expression shifted. She stared up at the night sky, shocked.
"Why is there more Hollow pressure?"
"One, two, three... a hundred, three hundred..."
"Impossible. How could this many Hollows appear at once? Over three hundred, that's a full-blown Hollow tide."
Yu and Ichigo looked up.
In the sky, in alleys, along the streets, black fissures opened and Hollows poured out.
Cold sweat slid down both of their temples.
Are those guys really going this far... Yu licked his lips without thinking. Panic tugged at his gut.
Even if Ichigo becomes a Soul Reaper, he might not be able to handle this many.
"Damn it, why are there so many?"
Rukia clenched her teeth and crushed the fear in her chest. She sprang forward with the pure white blade.
"First Dance, Tsukishiro."
"Next Dance, Hakuren."
"Third Dance, Shirafune."
The white sword flashed again and again. Frost and cold billowed outward, and the street's temperature plunged.
Even so, countless Hollows still surged in with savage roars.
Rukia slipped once. A Hollow's jaws clamped on her shoulder. She cut it down, then dropped to one knee, face pale.
So she still got bitten on the shoulder... flashed through Yu's mind. He sprinted to her side.
"Hey, Soul Reaper girl, are you alright?"
Breath ragged, Rukia stared bitterly at the incoming tide.
"I can still fight, but there's no way I can cut down this many on my own. If I call for backup, it won't arrive in time..."
With this many running wild, she did not dare imagine how many would die in Karakura tonight.
Hearing that, Yu felt his chance.
He stepped in front of Rukia, eyes steady.
"Wait, that's too close..."
Rukia flushed as he leaned in.
"Soul Reaper girl, is there a way to make me a Soul Reaper too?"
Yu's voice was solemn.
Rukia blinked, the blush fading as her gaze hardened.
"There is, but it's dangerous."
"It's fine."
Yu smiled. "Just tell me what to do."
Rukia fell silent for two seconds. At last she made up her mind. She leveled the blade at his chest, voice firm.
"You need to take this sword... and drive it into your heart."
"I understand."
Ignoring the blood on his palms, Yu seized the edge and set the point to his heart.
"My name is Tachibana Yu. I'll be in your care."
Rukia's eyes softened. She had never seen a human like this, much less a man like this. A smile touched her lips.
"I'm not 'Soul Reaper girl.' My name is Kuchiki Rukia."
In the next instant, they gripped the blade together and thrust.
At the same time, Ichigo sensed something wrong and lunged to stop them.
"Yu, calm down. You don't even know if she's scamming you. If it really pierces your heart you could be—"
"Stay put."
On the roof, Isshin fired off a burst of kidō.
Ichigo yelped and stumbled forward, slamming into Yu's back. The silver-white blade pierced both their hearts together.
BOOOOM!
Azure spiritual power geysered into the night sky.
...