Chapter 27: Ichigo vs. Rukia

Chapter 27: Ichigo vs. Rukia

“Boom!” Suddenly, two intertwined spiritual pressures clashed in the distant sky. Lolita flinched slightly at the abrupt change, then a strange light flickered in her eyes. “That’s Ichigo’s spiritual pressure... and the other one... wait! That spiritual pressure is—”

From that spiritual pressure, Lolita felt a warmth, a familiarity... After a brief pause, she hastily moved toward its source, her heart fluttering with inexplicable excitement and tension. No doubt about it—she was here at last!

“Rukia! Wait for me!”

…

“Haah!”

With a fierce shout, Ichigo swung his enormous Zanpakutō toward the girl before him, who wore an outfit remarkably similar to his own—black Shihakushō, a finely crafted Zanpakutō... a Shinigami! The second Shinigami he had seen besides Lolita! Normally, Ichigo would never raise a hand against a girl, but this one’s aggressive provocation upon their first meeting had thoroughly angered him.

“You! I’m asking you again! Which squad are you from? Why did you leave the Soul Society without permission? Are you a rebel? What’s your purpose?” Rukia challenged the orange-haired boy, blocking his downward strike. She had initially come to investigate the Hollow’s spiritual pressure but was shocked to find the Hollow already slain by this young man when she arrived. At first, she thought he was a reinforcement sent by the Soul Society, but when she questioned him, it became clear that this Shinigami knew nothing about the Soul Society and was hostile, trying to leave immediately.

Rukia’s mind churned with two possibilities regarding this youth: first, he truly was ignorant of the Soul Society’s affairs—but then, how did he possess Shinigami powers? That made no sense. Without passing through the Central Spiritual Arts Academy and awakening a Zanpakutō, an ordinary soul could never awaken one, let alone become a Shinigami by their own strength. Unless some Shinigami had transferred their powers to him—a grave crime no one would dare commit. Rukia dismissed this possibility.

Moreover, seeing that the boy possessed a genuine Gigai, Rukia leaned toward the second possibility: this boy was a rogue Shinigami who had fled the Soul Society into the living world! With that thought, as the youth returned to his Gigai, Rukia drew her Zanpakutō, intent on taking him down in one swift move. Yet his reaction exceeded her expectations. Just as her blade was about to strike, he swiftly turned, narrowly evading the blow. The blade only grazed the corner of his coat and the pouch at his waist.

“I don’t know anything about your so-called squad or rebels! You—!” Using her Zanpakutō to block his blade’s path, Ichigo stole a glance at the soul controlling his body in the distance. Noticing the pouch at his waist, just slashed open the moment they met, a surge of anger welled up inside him. Gritting his teeth, he pressed down on his Zanpakutō, channeling his physical strength and exuding a blue-white spiritual pressure. He pushed against her blade, rebounding both sword and opponent, and shouted, “You bastard!”

“What!?” Rukia had sensed the immense power in his enormous Zanpakutō from the start, but she never imagined his explosive force was far beyond what she had initially gauged. The disparity in their spiritual powers was staggering. The overwhelming force vibrating through her blade numbed her arms. Quickly, she stamped the ground with a layer of spiritual particles, sliding back several meters and raising her sword with cautious eyes fixed on Ichigo.

This was Ichigo’s first battle with anyone besides Lolita. Judging by the opponent’s speed, skill, and strength—and comparing them to an ordinary human state like Lolita’s—Ichigo concluded he could win. Tightening his grip, he rested the massive Zanpakutō on his shoulder and spoke calmly, “Hey! Cut it out! Just don’t cause me any more trouble, and I’ll pretend what happened earlier never happened. But if you attack me again—” His eyes sharpened. “I won’t hold back!”

“You’re too arrogant! Who do you think you’re talking to?” Rukia’s pride, honed by years among the nobility, flared. With a surge of spiritual power beneath her feet, she vanished from sight.

“Tch, so this is Shunpo?” Ichigo recalled the forcibly implanted memories describing this technique, though he had yet to practice it. Suddenly feeling a blade’s wind sweep past him, he reacted without hesitation, leaning back two steps while raising his Zanpakutō to parry.

“Clang!” The sharp clash of blades rang out. Rukia reappeared mysteriously before Ichigo but was swiftly repelled by his overwhelming strength. She somersaulted six times midair before regaining control and coming to a stop.

“Damn it... the difference in strength and battle instinct... Close combat isn’t suitable...” Rukia bit her lip, analyzing the youth before her, pondering how to counter him.

“This is your fault! Take this!” Furious, Ichigo charged, raising his Zanpakutō.

Blades collided in a flurry of strikes. Ichigo relied on raw strength and instinctual battle sense, while Rukia depended on agility and seasoned experience. Their large and small Zanpakutō clashed repeatedly, echoing through the space. After several exchanges, both noticed something astonishing...

‘Why does this guy’s sword technique mimic mine?!’ *Twice*

The same thought flashed through both their minds. Unlike Ichigo’s astonishment and confusion, a hint of nostalgia crept into Rukia’s heart. She involuntarily recalled the figure who once guided her swordsmanship beneath the cherry blossom tree... and the attitude she had shown that person before they parted—a genuine remorse and inner resistance.

Seeing the familiar sword patterns before her, irritation boiled within Rukia as she kicked at the spiritual pressure, shouting, “Rengoku! Sukuyuki!”

“What?!” Suddenly, a chilling wind embraced Ichigo. To his astonishment, her Zanpakutō transformed completely—its blade now a beautiful, snow-white ice sculpture, with slender pale ribbons trailing from the hilt. Faced with such exquisite beauty, an inexplicable sense of danger stirred within Ichigo. He silently blamed Lolita for never teaching him about Zanpakutō releases.

“Ichigo! Dodge! Watch your feet!” At that moment, a soul from afar called out urgently. Stunned, Ichigo blinked in confusion. “My feet?”

Despite his puzzlement, Ichigo instinctively heeded the warning. He leapt aside and retreated rapidly, eyes scanning downward to see a six-meter-diameter white circle glowing on the ground where he had just stood.

“Shoka! Tsukishiro!” With a cold release command, the icy blade traced through the ribbons, sending a dazzling column of snowy light shooting from the circle, connecting earth and sky. As the radiance faded, a massive pillar of ice towered before Ichigo.

“What... is this...?” Landing carefully and gazing at the striking spectacle, Ichigo instinctively stepped back several paces. Suddenly, a chill crept up his left leg. Glancing down, he saw that when he had jumped away, the ice pillar had grazed his lower leg, enveloping it in a creeping frost.

“What’s wrong? You look like you don’t even know Shikai. Are you really a Shinigami?” Rukia’s voice was tinged with amusement as she lightly flicked her blade, shattering the giant ice pillar into glittering shards that dissolved into the air.

“Shikai?”

“Hmph. Judging by your expression, you really don’t know...” Though puzzled, Rukia explained patiently, “I’ll tell you. Shikai is the first released form of a Zanpakutō. Each Zanpakutō gains unique abilities after Shikai, like my Sukuyuki, which wields ice powers. Zanpakutō have two release forms: Shikai and Bankai. Shikai requires the wielder to communicate and synchronize with their blade to learn its name. This release only reveals part of its power. Bankai is a higher-level release that unleashes the blade’s full potential.”

“Shikai, Bankai... the blade’s name...” Ichigo looked down at his Zanpakutō, weighing the words.

“You don’t even know your own Zanpakutō’s name, do you...” Rukia sneered lightly, watching his frown. She said no more and swung Sukuyuki again. “Shoka! Tsukishiro!”

“Tch!” After one clash, Ichigo knew this technique had a pause. Sensing the spiritual pressure around his feet, he accelerated using the tactics Lolita had recently taught him and charged toward Rukia.

Missing her strike, Rukia showed no surprise. In her eyes, the battle was already one-sided after Shikai. A Zanpakutō without Shikai versus one with it—regardless of the wielder, the disparity in spiritual pressure alone made victory impossible for the current Ichigo.

“A frontal assault? How naïve! Jimai...” Watching Ichigo rush straight at her, Rukia smirked and raised her blade to tap the ground lightly. But just then, a fierce gale whooshed by, a sharp glint closing in. Sensing danger, Rukia halted her move and held Sukuyuki horizontally. The sudden impact from the flying blade’s force caught her off guard. Losing grip, Sukuyuki slipped from her hands...

“Binding Way Four? This rope!” While Rukia was stunned by Ichigo’s reckless use of a Shinigami’s most precious weapon like a throwing knife, a golden spiritual light rope wrapped tightly around her wrists.

“Oh no!”

“Hmph! Take this, you bastard!”

Bound, Rukia saw Ichigo’s fist hurtling toward her. Knowing she couldn’t evade, she curled into a ball, bracing to endure the blow. A careless mistake...

“Stop! Ichigo...” Just as the fist was about to strike, Lolita’s voice echoed in Ichigo’s ears.

“…She’s my sister!”

Hearing the shout, Ichigo abruptly relaxed his strength. Yet, given their proximity, he lost balance and couldn’t fully pull back his fist. Seeing the unstoppable punch, he reluctantly tilted downward, opening his palm to lessen the impact and avoid vital areas.

“Bang!”

“Rukia! Ichigo! You two…” Arriving just in time, a flustered Lolita rushed forward, eager to check for injuries, but the scene before her silenced her voice. She stared blankly at the two sprawled on the ground.

“Whoa!” Nearby, a soul holding the now-tattered pouch followed, letting out a strange cry.

“Ugh… ouch ouch…” Ichigo groaned, clutching his head with one hand and supporting himself with the other. Yet the sensation beneath his palm was softer than the hard ground he expected. Beneath him came a sound, half-cry, half-sob...

“Ugh!”

Slowly looking down, Ichigo’s mind blanked.

Flushed cheeks, shocked eyes, tears faintly glimmering at the corners—everything about the girl’s expression silently condemned his roughness and brutality moments ago.

For a moment, an eerie silence filled the space.

“Um... sorry…”

“Wah wah wah wah wah... can’t get married now!” She wailed. What exactly was she trying to say?

“Smack!” The crisp sound of a palm slapping a cheek shattered the silence, banishing the strangeness from the air.