For the rest of the week, Ichigo and Rukia kept running into dead ends. They'd detect a Hollow, race to the scene, only to find no trace of it. The pattern became frustrating, especially for Rukia, who now struggled without her powers.
'This is getting ridiculous,' she thought one afternoon, staring at the empty street where the Hollow had just been moments ago.
But the day's frustration faded as the school bell rang, signaling the end of their exams. The classroom buzzed with noise as the students relaxed, talking about how they'd done.
"Thank God we're done," Keigo said with a loud sigh, slumping over his desk dramatically. "I can't wait to sleep at my normal time again."
"Yeah, same," Mizuiro agreed, a small smile on his face as he stretched in his seat.
Ichigo turned toward them, his voice casual. "That was easy. Wanna get something to eat after this?"
"Easy? What the hell do you mean by that?" Keigo sputtered. "That was like writing with a gun to my head!"
Mizuiro raised an eyebrow. "That's not surprising. Have you checked Ichigo's results in the midterms, Keigo?" He stood up and walked to the back of the room, grabbing the top 50 list from the bulletin board.
Keigo, looking confused, turned to Chad. "What does that have to do with anything? All the people I hang out with are idiots. Aren't we, Chad?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood. Chad simply nodded in agreement, his expression blank.
Mizuiro returned with the list in hand and handed it to Keigo, who stared at it, his jaw dropping.
"What the—!!!" Keigo gasped, his voice rising in shock. "Eighteenth. Out of the whole class? Does this mean you're eighteenth out of all 322 students in our class?! No way! How did you get on this list!?"
Ichigo sighed, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. "I'm not in any clubs. So I have nothing to do at night except go home and study." His voice had a dead tone, as if the effort was automatic and draining.
"What?!" Keigo exclaimed, looking horrified. "But I ask you to hang out all the time! Ohhh, so that's why you always turn down my invitations! While we're out having fun like idiots, you've been eating books. You weirdo!!! Nerd!!!" Keigo wailed, his face crumpling into exaggerated tears.
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Shut up."
Once the bell rang and the day ended, they all left school. But as Ichigo was heading home, he received another call from Rukia—another Hollow had appeared.
' Man, I am getting tired of this, ' he thought, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
Meanwhile, Rukia stood there, staring at her phone. Every fiber of her being wanted to throw it against the wall, but she gritted her teeth, holding back her anger. Her frustration, though, was quickly overshadowed by the approach of someone else.
Ichigo's senses went on high alert, and he immediately turned, his eyes narrowing.
"We have company," he said in a low tone, his voice cautious.
Rukia, confused, looked around.
"Company?" she asked, but before Ichigo could answer, the familiar figure of Uryuu appeared from the shadows, walking toward them with a calm, almost deliberate pace.
Uryuu stood before them, dressed in his signature Quincy outfit, a sleek white tunic adorned with black accents. The outfit, complete with the distinctive cross on his chest and the long, flowing cape, made Ichigo snicker under his breath.
'That's one hell of an outfit,' he thought, raising an eyebrow. The outfit almost made Uryuu look like a character out of some historical drama or a mad scientist.
"Good evening, Mr. Kurosaki, Miss Kuchiki," Uryuu greeted, his tone formal but tinged with a sharp edge.
Rukia, ever the skeptic, raised an eyebrow. "What is he? A mad scientist?" she asked with a smirk, which made Ichigo laugh out loud.
"Aha, good one," Ichigo responded, his voice laced with humor. He could already tell Uryuu wasn't the type to appreciate a joke.
Uryuu's face twitched with irritation as a vein bulged on his forehead. He took a deep breath, reigning in his anger. His calm exterior remained, but the tension in his jaw was evident.
"Mr. Kurosaki, you can see spirits, can't you?" he asked, his voice steady but cold.
"Yeah, why?" Ichigo replied, his tone casual but tinged with curiosity. He could already feel Uryuu's energy spike, like a sudden shift in the air.
Uryuu smiled, a thin, almost predatory smile. He turned to face the direction of the incoming Hollow, but Ichigo had already sensed it, the oppressive, dark presence drawing nearer.
"There's a Hollow coming," Uryuu stated, cutting through the tension in the air like a knife.
Beep beep beep.
Rukia's eyes widened in shock as her eyes flicked to the nearby tracker. "It's true. Right here!! There's an order!" she exclaimed, clearly startled by the sudden confirmation of the Hollow's location.
Uryuu's hand instinctively went to the bracelet on his wrist. A flicker of blue energy crackled from it as the Quincy cross on the bracelet activated, and in the blink of an eye, a large bow materialized in front of him, shimmering with intense spiritual energy.
WSSSSH!
The sound of the bowstring being drawn echoed through the air. Uryuu's eyes narrowed, his focus sharp and unwavering as he aimed at the target. With a single, fluid motion, he released the arrow.
A beam of brilliant blue energy shot forward, cutting through the air like a comet, leaving a trail of light in its wake. It twisted and turned with precision, weaving around obstacles as if guided by an invisible hand. The moment it reached the Hollow, it struck with unrelenting force, piercing its mask with a loud CRACK and shattering it in an instant. The Hollow's body jerked violently before it crumbled into nothingness.
Ichigo watched the whole display, his expression unchanged. He'd seen this before—Uryuu's precise, deadly technique, his Quincy prowess in action. The Hollow's demise was swift, clean, and without a single wasted movement.
"I am Uryuu Ishida, a Quincy," Uryuu said, his voice cutting through the silence like a blade. "And I hate Soul Reapers."
His words hung in the air, as cold and sharp as the arrow he had just fired.
The silence that followed Uryuu's declaration hung in the air like a thick fog. Ichigo looked at him, his hands casually tucked into his pockets, trying to ignore the underlying tension. The wind rustled around them, as if the world itself was waiting for something. Rukia, still standing with her arms crossed, eyed Uryuu with a mixture of suspicion and intrigue.
"I'm guessing you don't like me," Ichigo said with a casual shrug, breaking the silence. He didn't seem fazed by Uryuu's animosity—if anything, it was almost like background noise to him by now.
Uryuu's eyes narrowed, the expression on his face never faltering. "I don't like Soul Reapers," he reiterated, his voice as cold as ice, "and I certainly don't like you. You're the embodiment of everything I despise."
Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "That's a little dramatic, don't you think?" he said, his tone still light but with a hint of amusement.
"Maybe. But that doesn't make it any less true." Uryuu's gaze never wavered, and his hand remained on the bow, his spiritual energy still crackling faintly in the air.
Rukia sighed, her arms uncrossing as she stepped forward, her eyes flicking between the two of them. "Could you both stop acting like children for five seconds? This is serious."
Ichigo shot her a sidelong glance but didn't say anything. He was still processing what had just happened. Uryuu had killed the Hollow with a single shot, without even breaking a sweat. The power he had displayed was impressive—too impressive to ignore. Ichigo couldn't help but wonder just how far Uryuu was willing to go to prove himself as a Quincy.
"You've got some serious skill," Ichigo said finally, his tone turning more respectful. "But you're not the only one who can fight Hollows."
Uryuu turned his head slightly, a faint smirk curling at the corner of his lips. "I don't doubt that," he said, though the tone of his voice suggested he didn't entirely believe it. "But don't think for a second that just because you can fight a few, you're on my level."
Ichigo's smirk widened. "You want to test that?" he asked, stepping forward slightly. He was used to this kind of posturing—Uryuu had the same kind of pride Ichigo had in his own abilities.
But Rukia wasn't having it. She stepped in between them, putting a hand on Ichigo's chest to stop him from going any further. "Not now, Ichigo," she said firmly. "We've got more important things to focus on than bickering over whose abilities are better."
Ichigo sighed but relented, stepping back and crossing his arms. Uryuu, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind the interruption, though the glint in his eyes made it clear he wasn't going to forget the challenge so easily.
Rukia turned to the direction the Hollow had come from, her expression serious. "We should head back. There could be more Hollows in the area, and it's better to be cautious."
"Right," Ichigo agreed. "I think we've had enough excitement for one night anyway."
Uryuu, however, lingered for a moment longer, his hand still resting on his bow. "This isn't over," he said softly, though his words weren't directed at Ichigo. They were more of a promise to himself—one that Ichigo couldn't quite ignore.
TO BE CONTINUED
[Please drop some stones. Also please read Lustful Vengeance. It's Peak trust me. ]