Ever since Rukia appeared, the pace of Ichigo's life had clearly sped up.
Not only did he have to deal with classes and homework at school, but he also had to carry out Konsō from time to time.
That was not even mentioning the emergency situations where he had to eliminate corrupted Hollows.
One day, while class was in session, Rukia suddenly pulled her phone from her pocket and checked it.
"Ichigo, there's another order."
As she spoke, she quickly put on a special glove, preparing to knock Ichigo's soul out of his body.
"Again?!" Ichigo nearly snapped. "Can't you come up with another method? If you keep doing it this way every single time, I'm seriously not going to last. Last time, my body randomly collapsed in the middle of the street and nearly got taken to a crematorium as a corpse!"
"There's nothing we can do about it. Our conditions are limited right now," Rukia comforted him.
"Just be patient for a few more days. The Gikongan I ordered should arrive soon, and once it does, we won't have to go through all this trouble anymore."
Ichigo still wanted to say something, but before the words could leave his mouth, Rukia had already made her move.
She chanted a Kidō spell under her breath, then struck Ichigo hard in the chest with her palm.
In an instant, Ichigo felt his vision go black.
It was as though his very soul had been pulled out of him, and his awareness gradually blurred.
When he opened his eyes again, he found that his spirit body had already been separated from his physical body.
Ichigo closed his eyes and carefully sensed for a moment before immediately sprinting off in a certain direction.
"Ichigo, why are you suddenly so eager? Wait for me!"
Rukia spoke while quickly following after him.
"The Hollow appeared near Inoue's house. I have to get there as fast as possible," Ichigo said anxiously.
"So that's why. I was wondering why you suddenly became so motivated," Rukia said in realization.
"Stop talking and keep up!"
Ichigo urged her without even looking back.
When Ichigo and Rukia hurried to the area near Orihime Inoue's home, they were horrified to see a Hollow quietly sneaking into her house.
At the same time, Orihime's room was filled with laughter.
She and Tatsuki Arisawa were chatting happily in a warm, relaxed atmosphere.
But then, all of a sudden, Orihime was shocked to see bright red blood appearing on the floor.
Immediately afterward, dizziness swept over her. Her vision went dark, and she collapsed unconscious.
Tatsuki was frightened by the sudden change and froze in panic. Her eyes widened as she stared blankly at Orihime's fallen figure.
Then she hurriedly shook Orihime's body and called her name again and again, but there was no response.
At that moment, a powerful force slammed into Tatsuki.
Caught completely off guard, she was sent flying and crashed heavily onto the hard floor.
"What the hell is that?"
Tatsuki clutched her injured arm and struggled to sit up, but before she could steady herself, another powerful force knocked her down again.
She stretched out her uninjured arm, trying to block whatever was attacking her, and felt as though she had touched something.
But when she focused her eyes, there was nothing in front of her.
Nothing at all.
By then, Orihime, now in spirit form, was crouched fearfully in the corner of the room.
She could not believe she had appeared here in this form.
She stared in terror at her own body not far away, then at the Chain of Fate connecting her spirit body to it, her heart filled with fear.
At the same time, she noticed the enormous monster nearby. It radiated a frightening presence that made her tremble uncontrollably.
"Is this really me? Does that mean… I'm already dead?"
Orihime desperately tugged at the chain on her chest, wanting to break free. But each pull brought unbearable pain, as though countless needles were piercing her soul.
Just as Orihime sank into despair, she suddenly heard a muffled sound.
She turned her head and saw Tatsuki struggling on the floor, her face turning purple.
A huge black hand was gripping Tatsuki tightly around the throat.
Tatsuki's breathing grew more and more difficult. Her hands and feet thrashed desperately, but she could not break free from that powerful grip.
Seeing this, courage surged in Orihime's heart.
She no longer cared about her discomfort, nor about her fear of death. Using all her strength, she threw herself toward the monster's arm.
She knew her power was insignificant, but she could not just watch Tatsuki be killed by that monster.
After Orihime knocked the Hollow's arm away, Tatsuki collapsed to the floor as though all strength had left her.
She gasped for air, cold sweat covering her face.
Seeing this, Orihime worriedly moved beside Tatsuki and gently shook her.
"Tatsuki, are you okay? Are you hurt?"
However, Tatsuki did not respond.
Her eyes were filled with terror and panic, as though she had seen something horrifying.
Her body trembled slightly, and her lips would not stop shaking.
Then Tatsuki suddenly shoved Orihime's hand away and quickly crawled toward the wall.
Her eyes were wide, and her face was full of fear as she stared around her, muttering over and over, "Go away… go away…"
Orihime was frightened by Tatsuki's sudden reaction.
She did not understand why Tatsuki was acting like this.
"Tatsuki! What's wrong? Tatsuki! Don't scare me!"
She wanted to move closer, but she was afraid of provoking Tatsuki again.
Orihime had no idea what Tatsuki was so terrified of.
All she could do was watch helplessly from the side, hoping to find some way to help her return to normal.
The Hollow, which had been watching from the side, suddenly spoke.
Its voice was low and hoarse, as though it came from the depths of hell.
"Orihime, it's useless. She can't see what we look like. She can't hear a single word we say either."
Hearing that voice, Orihime's body violently trembled.
A chill crawled up her spine.
She widened her eyes and looked at the Hollow in fear.
"You… what exactly are you? Why do you know my name?"
Her voice shook.
Fear made it almost impossible for her to breathe.
"Orihime… You can't even recognize my voice anymore? Think carefully. It's me. How could you forget me? How sad. Truly sad!"
The Hollow's voice was full of mockery and cruel amusement.
As its words fell, a massive claw slowly reached toward her, its sharp nails flashing with a cold gleam.
"No! Don't come near me!"
Orihime screamed in terror. She helplessly raised her hands in front of her chest while her body kept retreating backward.
Her heartbeat sped up sharply, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
Just as the Hollow was about to attack Orihime, a figure charged in while cursing and blocked the Hollow's strike.
"Bastard! If you want to kill her, you'll have to step over my corpse first!"
Ichigo Kurosaki made his heroic entrance!
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