"Ichigo!" Rukia, completely unable to appreciate the aesthetics of baseball, hurriedly rushed to his side. "Wake up! You're not dead, are you? You shouldn't be dead, right?!"
*Is this girl hoping I'm okay or hoping I'm dead?* Ichigo sat up, clutching his forehead. "You're so loud. Nagging me before I've even gotten up, that's just the worst!"
Although his head was bleeding a little, he was just as unendearing as ever. Rukia figured his brain hadn't been damaged by the fall. He was technically a Shinigami now, so a few bumps and bruises were par for the course.
"How did you get beaten up this badly? Don't tell me you went soft just because the enemy can talk? Just because it can speak doesn't mean it can be reasoned with. You need to understand that..."
"You're so annoying!" Ichigo interrupted her lecture with a scowl. "I was just a little careless earlier. It was my fault, and it won't happen again."
"I see. That's good, then..."
"But, is there really no other way?"
*He really is letting it get to him,* Rukia thought. She replied with a stern expression, "There is no other way. You don't have to believe me, but if you fail, you won't be the only one who dies. Inoue's soul will be eaten by it immediately."
Meanwhile, Orihime stared blankly at the monster clutching her in its grasp. Even though she could see less than a quarter of its face, she was absolutely certain that it was her older brother—Inoue Sora.
"After I died, you prayed for me every single day. I saw it all, and it made me so happy. Truly, so happy..."
*So he never blamed me,* Orihime realized. Although it had been three years, she remembered it vividly. The reason her brother had gotten into that accident was partly her fault.
"Even though I died, your prayers made me feel like everything could be salvaged. I was certain I could find salvation," Sora said, his tone gradually growing heavier. "But a year later, you became friends with that girl. And ever since then, you prayed for me less and less..."
*That girl? He means Tatsuki, right?* Orihime looked at Tatsuki, who was lying unconscious on the floor. *So that's why he attacked her.*
"Then you started high school, met Kurosaki Ichigo, and stopped praying for me altogether!" Sora suddenly paused, his gaze turning fierce. "Whether it was before you left the house or after you came back, all you ever talked about was Kurosaki! I slowly lost my place in your heart!"
"That's not true, Sora!" Orihime hurriedly tried to explain, but he didn't seem to hear her at all, completely submerged in his own world.
"I was in so much pain! I couldn't accept it! And I hated it! I hated it so much that I wanted to kill you! So many times, I wanted to kill you!"
Ichigo had just leaped back into the room when he heard Orihime's Hollowfied brother declare his intent to kill her. All hesitation vanished from his heart. Rukia was right—showing mercy wouldn't just get him killed, it would get Inoue killed too!
Gripping the hilt with both hands, he flawlessly executed the anti-Hollow techniques Rukia had taught him. The giant Zanpakutō swept out in a horizontal slash, missing the monster's head by a mere hairsbreadth.
Unfortunately, that hairsbreadth was all it took. Somehow, Sora noticed the attack. Despite his massive size, he was unusually agile. He ducked his head and spun around, narrowly dodging the fatal strike, while simultaneously swinging his lower body to pin Ichigo viciously to the floor.
"Come with me, Orihime. Come with me, and let's go back to the life where it was just the two of us." Seeing that he had subdued Ichigo, Sora continued urging his sister to abandon her friends. In his eyes, those past days were the happiest times they had ever shared.
However, before he could finish, Orihime interrupted him with a question of her own. "If you were in pain and couldn't accept it, why didn't you tell me? If you felt like I was neglecting you, why didn't you just say so?"
"Orihime..."
Rukia had just reached the doorway of Orihime's room when she heard this exchange. *Is she blaming the Hollow, or her brother from when he was still a Plus? You idiot, whatever you do, don't provoke a Hollow!*
"To go and hurt Tatsuki and Kurosaki because of that... My brother would never do something like this!"
*Tell you? I did tell you. I tried so many times, but you couldn't hear me...* The memories of his immediate afterlife three years ago flashed rapidly through Sora's mind. He had definitely existed, but it felt like he was the only person left in the world. He could pour his heart out, but he never received a single response... And now, she was blaming him for not speaking up?
*Damn it, I'm too late.* As Rukia threw the door open, she saw the Hollow frozen in place. It looked quiet for the moment, but she knew it was only temporary. The situation was about to spiral into the absolute worst-case scenario.
"Ichigo, do it now! Hurry!"
Before Rukia's voice even faded, Sora descended into complete madness. Gripping Orihime with both hands, he roared furiously, "Who do you think I did all this for?! It was for you, Orihime!"
"I'm going to kill you! I swear it! You've always been like this, never listening to what others have to say!!!"
Sora moved to toss Orihime into his gaping maw, completely unaware that in his momentary fit of blind rage, he had inadvertently shifted the tail pinning Ichigo down.
Truthfully, Ichigo didn't need Rukia's reminder to know he had to act fast. But Orihime was already dangerously close to the Hollow's head. He had to cut off its arms and save her first!
It was a purely instinctual reaction. Rukia watched as Ichigo brought his blade down in a clean arc, severing both of the Hollow's arms. *The right choice,* she noted. The upper half of its body wasn't covered in scales. Even though she hadn't taught him this yet, weakening the opponent mid-battle was a highly effective strategy.
Now, all he had to do was strike its head while it was howling in pain, and this Hollow would be dealt with. They had just practiced this in today's special training. He would definitely be fine... right?
"As an older brother, do you know why you were born first?"
"What are you doing?! Trying to look cool?!" Rukia felt like she was on the verge of a breakdown. *Is this guy seriously giving a lecture right now? To a rampaging Hollow?!*
"Older brothers are born first so they can protect the younger brothers and sisters who come after them!" Ichigo completely ignored Rukia's shouting. As an older brother to two younger sisters himself, he absolutely refused to tolerate someone treating their sister like a piece of property. "To actually tell your own sister 'I'm going to kill you'... That's something you should never say, even if it kills you!"
"Kurosaki..."
Sora looked at his sister, who was staring fixedly at Kurosaki Ichigo. That look of absolute trust and reliance—she used to only look at him like that. Only him!
*Sora, I'm in high school now, and Kurosaki is in my class. He's the one who opened the door for you back then... I'm so happy. I'm sure you'd be happy to meet him too, Sora.*
*No, I'm not happy at all. He only used me to steal you away, Orihime!*
Like a wounded beast, Sora's bloodshot eyes locked solely onto Ichigo and Orihime, who was being protected behind him. This man—he could not accept him, no matter what.
To hand Orihime over to him in a way like this... He would absolutely never accept it!