"It's not working!"
Karin's voice echoed with frustration in Urahara's huge training basement as she slammed her bare fist against a solid rock post, which caused a dull thud and a choked groan of pain from her. She shook her hand to relieve the burning, as her knuckles were already red and the skin had broken in two places.
"Damn it, this is completely useless!"
Ichigo and Rukia watched from the sidelines, sitting on another rock further away with their school bags at their feet. They had gone straight to Urahara's shop after school because Karin had dragged them there, but it was clear she was reaching her limit.
"Karin, you've been yelling at that rock for an hour and you've hit that thing too many times," Ichigo said, leaning back on his hands, sounding more bored than concerned. "Maybe you just need to rest a bit or try to take a deep breath."
"To hell with breathing!" Karin snapped without even looking at him as she wiped the sweat from her forehead with her forearm. "I don't need to breathe, I need this to work because I saw what Rukia did! She closes her eyes and gets bone armor and claws that cut steel!"
She pointed to her own arm angrily and continued yelling. "And what do I get?! Just tattoos that disappear and the urge to hit something with all my strength, but when I do, I just break my knuckles!"
"It's not that simple, Karin," Rukia said quietly, sitting with her knees hugged to her chest. "It's not something I actively choose to do."
"Well, it looks easy enough from here!"
"It's not!" Rukia's voice rose, causing Karin to pause, surprised by the outburst. "It just happens when I'm in danger or when the hunger is too strong." Rukia trembled as she said the last part and kept her eyes fixed on the stone floor. "It doesn't feel like power, it feels like I'm suffocating."
"Well, I want a reaction," Karin muttered, though her anger had subsided a bit at Rukia's response. "I want something more than sore hands."
Yoruichi was sitting in her black cat form on top of the rock post Karin had been hitting and was grooming a paw, ignoring the tantrum with complete indifference.
"That's because your power is different, brat," the cat said suddenly, her deep voice cutting into the argument.
Karin froze to look up while Ichigo and Rukia straightened up attentively.
"Different," Karin repeated, narrowing her eyes. "Different how?"
Yoruichi stopped licking her paw and looked at Karin with her intelligent golden eyes. "Look at her, because what you have and what she has are two different things even if they come from the same place. Her power is defensive and is tied to her Soul Reaper soul."
The cat jumped to the floor without a sound and began to walk slowly around Rukia.
"Her innate spiritual power actively fights against Ichigo's corruption to protect itself and put a barrier between her soul and what he passed to her," Yoruichi continued as she paused in front of Rukia. "That's why it creates armor, as it's an attempt by her soul not to be consumed by that Hollow power that is now attached to her."
Rukia swallowed but said nothing because she knew the cat was right. Yoruichi turned to walk directly toward Karin and stopped at her feet, looking up.
"Yours is raw."
"Raw?" Karin repeated, frowning.
"You aren't a Soul Reaper but a human, but you have Ichigo's blood so the power you took from him isn't fighting anything," Yoruichi said. "It fused directly with your human blood and went to your core, so it's pure Hollow energy filtered through you."
The cat sat and stared at her. "She doesn't need control, she needs to survive, whereas you don't need to survive, you need to control. Her power encases her to protect her but yours seeks to get out, so she needs a mask to contain it and you need control to release it."
"That sounds great in theory," Karin snapped frustratingly. "But I don't know how to control something I can't even call on, because I try and nothing happens except I get hurt."
"Stop trying to be her," Yoruichi said impatiently. "Your power isn't external like Kido or her armor, so you're not going to 'think' it into existence because it's internal and it's in your blood, waiting in your fists."
Yoruichi suddenly dropped into a low, alert combat stance. "Show me your hand to hand combat now."
Karin blinked, confused by the change. "You want me to fight you?"
"You heard me."
"But you're a cat," Karin said, feeling stupid. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Try to hit me," Yoruichi purred.
Karin looked at Ichigo, who just shrugged. "Don't look at me, that cat could probably beat me."
Karin growled, feeling ridiculed. "Fine, but don't complain if I hurt you."
She lunged with a direct punch fueled by frustration, but Yoruichi dodged it effortlessly, moving aside just before impact. As Karin's fist passed where the cat had been, Yoruichi's front paw shot out and three sharp claws raked across Karin's cheek.
"Hey!" Karin yelled, backing away and touching her face as she felt the blood. "You scratched me!"
"You're slow and too angry," Yoruichi said, returning to her low stance. "The Hollow power feeds on your rage, but you have to direct it instead of letting it explode without direction."
Ichigo jumped to his feet. "Yoruichi, you went too far! She's just a kid and you cut her face!"
Karin didn't look at Ichigo, as her eyes were fixed on the cat and the humiliation of being hurt so easily was too much. "I don't need you to defend me!"
"Then defend yourself," Yoruichi said calmly.
Karin wiped the blood from her cheek with the back of her hand and her frustration reached its limit. "Shut up!"
She lunged again with a series of fast punches, trying to use speed, but Yoruichi was too fast and dodged every blow by millimeters, moving between her legs and jumping onto her back, causing Karin to hit nothing but air again and again.
"Faster!" Yoruichi urged after dodging a hook. "You're unbalanced and using your shoulders instead of your hips! You fight without technique!"
"Stop moving!" Karin yelled, sweating heavily, her lungs burning.
Yoruichi landed a few feet away and sat down again. "Do you think a Hollow will stand still for you to hit it?"
Karin leaned on her knees, gasping.
"You're weak," Yoruichi said coldly. "You have access to incredible power and all you do is complain that it's not the power you wanted, so you seem like a spoiled brat."
"I'm not!" Karin gasped.
"What will you do when a real Hollow attacks you?" Yoruichi asked, her voice low. "Ichigo has to protect everyone and Yuzu has to run the house, so tell me what you do besides get angry and wait for Ichigo to save you or for Rukia to protect you."
The cat took a step forward. "You're a burden."
"I'm not a burden!" Karin shouted with such intense rage that even Ichigo took a step back.
"Prove it!" Yoruichi snapped. "Stop thinking and stop trying to copy her to be a Soul Reaper! Take all that rage and humiliation you feel right now and use it!"
Karin screamed and this time she didn't lunge at the cat because she knew she couldn't reach her, so in a fit of rage she directed her entire being toward the only object that wouldn't move. She spun on her heel and threw a punch with all her strength against the solid rock post.
"KARIN NO, YOU'RE GOING TO DESTROY YOUR HAND!" Ichigo yelled, stepping forward in panic.
Just before her bare knuckles hit the stone, Yoruichi shouted a command.
"BURN IT!"
Karin obeyed instinctively and, in the split second before impact, the black tattoo markings reappeared, crawling from her shoulder down her arm. They swirled over her fist, covering her knuckles in dark ink, and a burst of reddish energy enveloped her hand.
CRACK!
The top of the rock post exploded into pieces and dust rained down on the basement floor. Karin stood there with her arm extended, gasping as the tattoos faded. Her hand was bleeding from the new cuts and her fingers hung broken, but she had felt the power.
Ichigo stared at her with wide eyes. "Karin... your hand is shattered."
Karin didn't seem to hear him despite the immense pain shooting up her arm, so she looked up from her bloody hand and a wild smile spread across her face. "I did it! Did you see that, Ichigo? It worked!"
Yoruichi landed softly from a ceiling beam. "Good, now you have power and a broken hand, so the next step is to learn how to do the first thing without getting the second."
Rukia watched everything from a distance, very pale, and she slowly stood up, bringing her hand to her chest. That wasn't Kido or Hakuda, there was no incantation or words, just pure rage that didn't belong to a Soul Reaper but to a Hollow.
"Ichigo..." she whispered low enough for only him to hear.
Ichigo turned to her, his concern shifting focus upon seeing Rukia's pallor. "What's wrong?"
"That..." Rukia swallowed, her eyes fixed on Karin, who was now laughing as Ichigo tried to examine her hand. "That sounded like him, like the voice in your head."
Ichigo froze because he knew exactly what she meant. Rukia felt a knot in her stomach. What are we all becoming?
...
That same night in a dark alley filled with trash in Karakura, a silent fissure opened in reality. Two Soul Reapers appeared as silently as the portal and moved with flawless military precision, both wearing the emblem of the Second Division of the Special Forces.
The first was a tall man named Abe, who pulled a detection device from his uniform. "The signal of the Hollow anomaly stopped at this point after a massive spike."
The second was a woman named Sato, a sensor, who knelt and touched the pavement with her fingertips. "The old reports indicate the spiritual energy at this post is strong, but there's a high concentration of souls here."
Abe approached her, putting away his device. "Sato, give me your analysis."
Sato closed her eyes, concentrating. "The residual energy is chaotic because there are two distinct signatures that seem to have clashed violently here."
Abe's impassive face showed slight interest. "Two signatures?"
"Yes, one is from a Hollow and the other is from a Soul Reaper." Sato rubbed her fingers. "The characteristics match the profile of the missing officer, Rukia Kuchiki, and her trail ends right where the Hollow's energy is strongest."
Abe turned, looking at the city lights. "Understood, there was a confrontation."
"What do we report, sir?" Sato asked, looking at him.
"We report the facts about a considerable Hollow energy anomaly and that Rukia Kuchiki's trail disappears at the same point," Abe said flatly.
"Do you think she was defeated?" Sato asked quietly.
"We can't be sure, but it's possible something went wrong when she confronted the Hollow," Abe replied. "The reason for her disappearance is still unknown, but her last location is the epicenter of that energy."
He turned to his partner. "Report directly to Captain Soi Fong because we have to find the source of this energy and Rukia Kuchiki."
Sato nodded, her expression becoming professional again. "Our objectives are clear."
Abe looked at her coldly. "The Captain was very clear, so we will find her... alive or dead."
*****
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