Ichigo's mouth twitched as he watched Rukia stubbornly argue.
It was the first time he had seen someone who, despite being so unreasonable, was still so confident.
"Besides, I'm just a girl, and I don't mind. What are you scared of?" Rukia said carelessly.
"I'm scared of you, an old hag over a hundred years old, sneaking into my room at night! What's wrong with that?!" Ichigo shot back, not planning to let Rukia off easily as the two started bickering again.
But in the end, the matter was left unsettled, and Ichigo still gave countless warnings, telling her over and over not to let his old man or his sisters find out.
Deep down, Ichigo probably didn't really want Rukia to leave his home either.
In the days that followed, Ichigo and Rukia helped Chad defeat a newly born Hollow and sent a wandering spirit to the afterlife.
Ichigo even bought a Soul Candy for Rukia. However, she immediately rejected it, deeming it useless, and stuffed it into a little lion plushie instead.
That, of course, led to some problems when the modified soul inside the candy used the plushie to cause mischief and nearly got reclaimed by Urahara, the man with the green-striped hat.
However, Rukia managed to keep it in the end, with the reasoning that anything she bought was her property, and no one had the right to take it back.
Then, one night in Ichigo's room—
"Rukia, can I take tomorrow off from work?" Ichigo's tone was heavy.
Rukia looked at his face and asked in surprise, "What's wrong, Ichigo? That's not like you."
Ichigo turned and looked at her seriously.
"Tomorrow is important... It's the anniversary of my mother's death. No, to be exact, it's the day she was killed!"
After saying that, Ichigo's expression grew even darker.
"Alright. Take tomorrow off," Rukia answered without hesitation.
The reason Ichigo clung so desperately to protecting those around him was, of course, the shadow left behind by the death of his mother, who had died protecting him.
He didn't ever want to see his loved ones get hurt again.
The next morning, not only did Ichigo's family take leave, but Tatsuki also joined them.
This was a sign of the Kurosaki family's acceptance of Tatsuki.
After all, Ichigo wasn't the type of guy who would leave a girl hanging.
However, what Ichigo didn't expect was that right in front of his family, Rukia appeared in the middle of the road, waving at them with a smile!
Tatsuki turned to Ichigo. "Rukia-chan is also someone you invited?"
Ichigo helplessly covered his face. "This idiot! How could I have invited her?!"
"Well, then, I'll take her away for a bit," Tatsuki said, a little exasperated. "Just wait for me after you finish paying your respects."
Ichigo nodded, watching Tatsuki drag Rukia away.
He then followed his father and sisters to their mother's grave, carrying a heavy heart.
Meanwhile—
"Rukia-chan, what are you doing here?" Tatsuki asked bluntly.
"Inoue-san, since you still remember what happened before, may I ask you something? Do you think Ichigo's mother... could have been killed by a Hollow?" Rukia asked, her demeanor serious, her usual haughty airs gone.
"You're saying... Ichigo's mother was killed by a Hollow?!" Tatsuki gasped, shaken by the thought.
"Ichigo only recently gained the powers of a Shinigami, but he could already see spirits since he was little. That means his spiritual power is abnormally high. And Hollows are especially attracted to strong spiritual power," Rukia explained logically.
"So Ichigo's mother died protecting him... and that's why he keeps blaming himself for her death?" Tatsuki asked, even though her tone was more of a statement than a question.
"I believe that's very likely," Rukia said gravely. "And Ichigo himself probably has some suspicion about it."
Only then did Tatsuki realize — no wonder she had felt that something about Ichigo was off today.
"Thank you, Rukia-chan. I have to go to Ichigo!" Tatsuki thanked her and immediately ran toward the cemetery.
At the cemetery—
The Kurosaki family was bowing in front of Masaki's grave.
Yuzu sobbed uncontrollably before her mother's tombstone.
Karin, seeing her sister cry, knelt down and patted her on the head to comfort her. "It's already been so many years. You don't have to cry every time we come here."
"I... I can't help it!" Yuzu sniffled as she wiped her tears.
Ichigo stared at the grave, his heart weighed down.
"Mom... I'm here to see you," he whispered softly.
Seeing the three siblings all so sad, Isshin immediately tried to lighten the mood. "Alright! Time for the Kurosaki family's traditional game! We have to knock over Mom's tombstone within 240 seconds!"
Karin's forehead twitched violently, and without hesitation, she kicked Isshin flying, restoring silence to the cemetery.
At that moment, Tatsuki arrived too, respectfully paying her respects to Masaki's grave.
Then, she pulled Ichigo aside and quietly told him what Rukia had shared with her.
After listening, Ichigo didn't look relieved at all. Instead, he replied with a sorrowful expression, "Tatsuki... you don't need to comfort me. It's my fault. It's because of me that Mom..."
Clearly, Ichigo was still trapped in his guilt. It was very hard for him to move on.
But before Tatsuki could say anything else, Ichigo suddenly sensed something, and his eyes snapped to the side.
A Hollow had appeared — a strange-looking one with brown fur covering its body and a mask twisted into a grotesque smile — standing right in front of Yuzu and Karin!
"Tatsuki! Get them to safety!" Ichigo shouted as he activated his Shinigami powers and charged forward!
"Got it!" Tatsuki answered firmly.
At that moment, the Hollow lunged toward Karin.
But Ichigo leapt down from the sky and, in order to avoid destroying the surrounding graves, kicked the Hollow away, sending it flying down the hillside.
The Hollow hadn't expected a Shinigami to be here and was caught completely off guard.
Meanwhile, Tatsuki quickly led Yuzu, Karin, and Isshin to a small house deeper in the mountain to hide. She firmly believed Ichigo would win!
At the same time, Rukia, having sensed the Hollow's presence too, was running toward Ichigo's location.
However, she didn't notice that a figure wearing a straw hat — another Shinigami — was silently following behind her.
And his target wasn't the Hollow... it was Rukia herself!
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][www.p@treon.com/zaelum]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]