Goddess of Ice: Corrupting Bleach

Chapter 8: Hollow Attack on Karakura Town

Some more time passed, and it was currently time for this year's final exams. In the last few months, nothing much had happened except for Ichigo having to kill a few Hollows. Well, recently, whenever he appeared where the Hollow was supposed to appear, nothing happened, irritating him greatly. By now, he was pretty sure that Rukia's device to detect Hollows was broken.

"YES!!! IT'S FINALLY OVER!!! ... And I'm dead..."

This year's last exam had just ended, and as soon as it was over, Keigo stood up and yelled in relief that they were finally done. Hearing his yell, Mizuiro couldn't help but chuckle in amusement.

"Yeah, mine was pretty crap. Guess yours was the same."

"Quit worrying; final exams don't hold much meaning in life anyway."

Hearing Ichigo's seemingly encouraging words, Keigo had tears streaming down his eyes as he frantically nodded his head.

"That's right, who cares about the final exams!? Let's share the pain of being morons, Ichigo."

Before Ichigo could comment any further, Mizuiro pulled out a piece of paper and showed it to Keigo.

"I wouldn't make that kind of comment before reading the results of the mid-term exam."

Keigo wanted to comment that there was no way Ichigo was on there, as it only showed the top fifty, but before he could say anything else, his eyes zeroed in on the name listed at the twenty-first place.

"TWENTY-FIRST PLACE!? To think you would betray the idiot club! While we were out there, playing to our heart's content, you were sitting at home like a nerd! Ichigo, do you want me to gift you a pair of nerdy glasses!?"

"Not interested."

While smacking Keigo for getting too close, Ichigo's eyes landed on the list Mizuiro was still holding, causing him to sigh deeply.

"Rather than me, isn't there another group you should pay attention to?"

Keigo recovered instantly as his gaze returned to the results of the mid-term exams. His eyes widened like saucers when he realized what was Ichigo was talking about. He mechanically turned his head before his eyes landed on the Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto trio that was happily chatting away like they didn't just go through a stressful testing phase.

Without a second of hesitation, he pointed his finger at them, drawing the group's attention.

"How were all of you tied for first place with full points!? Well, I can still understand Hinata doing so since she appears to be a refined beauty, but how the hell did you twins manage that!? No, even more important: HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO GET A FULL SCORE, YUNA!? AREN'T YOU A PERVERT!?"

A dangerous glint passed through the twin's eyes as they smirked at Keigo, causing him to take a step back.

"Hoo~ So you are calling Naruto and me stupid, huh?"

"Hehe, hey, Keigo, how about we three step outside for a minute?"

"Yeah, Keigo, let's have a nice little walk, followed by a civil conversation."

"IHH!!! I'M GETTING BULLIED!!!"

Seeing Keigo's exaggerated reaction to her and Naruto's words, Yuna chuckled in amusement, instantly reducing some of the pressure Keigo initially felt.

"Well, I might be a pervert, but I'm a smart pervert~"

Keigo relaxed a little when the pressure on him was reduced, but his face deadpanned as soon he heard Yuna's answer.

"What the hell is a smart pervert?"

"Please listen properly, Keigo. I am."

Keigo was just about to deliver another retort when the door burst open, revealing an agitated Rukia. Before anyone could ask what was going on, she approached Ichigo, gripped his arms, and started pulling him out of the room.

"H-Hey, Rukia, what's going on!?"

"Just follow me; there is something important to discuss."

The other people in the room could only raise their eyebrows at how aggressively Rukia was dragging Ichigo away, and just when the duo was about to leave the room, Yuna decided to throw in a little comment.

"Don't forget to use a condom.~"

After Rukia heard Yuna's comment, she tripped over her own feet, resulting in her smashing face-first into the door.

"W-W-W-What the hell are you talking about!?"

Seeing Rukia's flustered look, Yuna couldn't help but chuckle in amusement as she leaned back on her chair and shrugged her shoulders.

"Mah, no need to act coy. All of us are stressed due to the exams, so it's only natural to let off some steam together."

Before Rukia could say anything else, a perverted expression appeared on Yuna's face as she glanced at Hinata.

"Hehehe, I'll do the same after a..."

*Bonk*

Before she could finish speaking, Hinata hit the back of Yuna's head with a wry smile and a slight blush on her face. Meanwhile, Naruto gave Tatsuki a brief glance, causing her face to flush. By now, they were pretty much in a relationship but had done nothing more than a few small kisses on the cheeks or forehead. Frankly, Tatsuki still had some doubts regarding this relationship due to how Naruto reacted when Yuna mentioned making a harem. Before she hadn't talked about that with Naruto, she was unwilling to actually commit.

On the other hand, while Rukia was slightly dazed due to Yuna and Hinata's interaction, she quickly realized that there was still a Hollow to kill, so she promptly dragged Ichigo away while leaving a few more words behind.

"A-Anyway, it isn't like that between Ichigo and me, so stop spreading those weird rumors already!"

Seeing the duo leave, Yuna could only shake her head with a wry smile on her face.

"Spreading rumors? Aren't the actions of you two the main source of these rumors?"

Hearing Yuna's words, the people in the classroom simply nodded their heads in agreement. No matter how they looked at the situation, it was very suspicious.

Another week passed, and Ichigo pretty much spent the whole week glaring at Ishida, who Yuna had previously identified as another Quincy.

'Guess he found out about his identity, huh? I wonder why Ichigo is glaring at him like that. Guess something must have happened.'

[Considering he always left the classroom shortly after Ichigo, Ichigo is probably salty about kill steals.]

Yuna couldn't help but chuckle in amusement due to Kurama's words before simply nodding her head in agreement.

'Anyway, I feel like things will escalate today, so I think I'll take a look at what these two are up to.'

[So, you'll stalk them?]

'Yes, I'll stalk them.'

As Yuna finished her conversation, she redirected her gaze at Hinata and Naruto, who were ready to leave.

"You two can go ahead; I still have something to do."

Hearing Yuna's words, the duo gave each other a knowing glance before they simply shrugged their shoulders.

"Sure, go ahead, Yuna."

"Yup, have fun, nee-san. Hey, Tatsuki, want me to accompany you home?"

As soon as these words left Naruto's mouth, Tatsuki's face flushed red as she started glaring at Naruto, causing him to grin widely. Simultaneously, everyone's gaze zeroed in on Tatsuki, causing her to blush even harder.

"I-Idiot! I-I still have club activities."

As she hastily spat out an excuse to leave, Naruto's grin widened even further as he resumed speaking.

"Alright, I'll wait till they are over~"

Tatsuki almost tripped when she heard Naruto's words before turning around and giving him another glare and then quickly running out of the room.

"You sure like teasing her, don't you, Naruto?"

Naruto chuckled silently as he answered Hinata's question with a big nod.

"Yup, teasing a tomboy is a lot of fun~"

Yuna nodded in approval to Naruto's words and quickly said her farewell. She didn't want to lose Ichigo and Ishida, after all.

Seeing Yuna hastily leave, Naruto could only shake his head with a wry expression on his face. Moments later, he briefly glanced at Hinata before he continued speaking.

"Well, since both of our dates are off to do something else, want to eat somewhere together, Hinata? My treat."

Hinata pretty much nodded her head instantly as she knew it would just be a meal between friends. Or rather than friends, it was probably more fitting to call the duo siblings in all but blood.

"Sure, let's go. However, I won't be accepting any rame."

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Hearing Hinata's demand, Naruto's smile briefly stiffened before going back to being more neutral.

"Hahaha, of course, of course. Obviously, I didn't plan to invite you to ramen."

Doubt filled Hinata's eyes for a short moment before she simply shrugged her shoulders and left the classroom side-by-side with Naruto.

Meanwhile, drama was unfolding as Ichigo tried and failed observing Ishida's movement due to Ichigo constantly leaking copious amounts of Spiritual Power, making it easy for Ishida to sense him.

While they were talking, Ishida revealed that he had always noticed Ichigo's high Spiritual Power and that he also noticed when Ichigo acquired Rukia's Shinigami powers.

"Won't you fight me, Kurosaki Ichigo? Let's see who is stronger. A Shinigami or a Quincy. I'll make you understand that Shinigami are unnecessary in the world."

While Ishida was taunting Ichigo with copious amounts of bullshit, Yuna leisurely sat on a nearby tree branch, watching the drama unfold.

'Shinigami are unnecessary, huh? Didn't Quincy kill too many Hollow almost destroy the world a while ago? Shinigami seem pretty necessary to me. Well, that is as long as the story is true.'

[Well, we initially heard it from a Quincy, so I think the source is at least somewhat reliable.]

'True, if that piece of information had come from a Shinigami, there would be many reasons to doubt its authenticity. After all, they would obviously make up a reason why they genocided a whole race.'

Yuna heard Kurama hum in acknowledgment as Yuna continued spectating the duo's conversation. Basically, Ichigo saw no reason to fight Ishida, claiming that it was stupid and that there was no reason to fight. However, Ishida quickly used a cheap provocation to spur him on, claiming that he was only a substitute Shinigami and wasn't allowed to act without Rukia.

So, clearly annoyed by Ishida's provocation, Ichigo took out a pill and swallowed it, resulting in his Shinigami form popping out of his body.

"Kon, watch the match from there. Watch me as I pound this guy into the floor."

While Ichigo was talking smack, Yuna observed with some interest how the artificial soul she had previously met pushed Ichigo's soul out of his body.

'What an interesting device. It seems like Soul Society has quite a few interesting trinkets. I should definitely pay them a visit when I find a good opportunity.'

[Every single person in Soul Society just had a shiver go down their spine.]

'Surely, it was a shiver of excitement due to finally being allowed to meet me.'

[Sure, let's pretend it was.]

"Let's play a little game, Kurosaki Ichigo."

As these words left Ishida's mouth, he smugly adjusted his glasses with one hand while taking something that looked like a big medicine pill.

"Game? I have no interest in playing any games with you."

"Too bad, I fear you will have no other choice than to participate."

As he said that, he crushed the pill he was holding, causing Yuna and Ichigo to frown. Somehow, both of them had a bad feeling about whatever Ishida just did.

"What the hell did you do!?"

"Simple. I used bait."

Yuna couldn't help but squint her eyes when she heard the word bait. If Ishida did what she assumed he did, someone is getting into trouble. And, as if to confirm her guess, a black portal opened nearby, and a Hollow came out of it. Fortunately, an arrow pierced its head before it could take its second step, killing it instantly.

"Hollow bait, to be precise. For the next half an hour, many Hollow will appear in the vicinity. Let's compete on who can kill more. I'm already one ahead."

Ichigo's eyes widened in shock when Ishida finished his explanation. He was just about to yell at him for using something so dangerous inside the town, but before he could do so, a chill passed through his spine as he felt like it had suddenly gotten colder.

Suddenly, a person appeared in front of Ishida, and before he could react, a hand gripped him by the throat, causing him to choke.

"If a single innocent person dies due to your hubris, I will kill you."

Ishida trembled in fear as an ice-cold voice filled with promises of death entered his ears while his gaze was transfixed on a pair of emotionless purple eyes.

Seemingly satisfied with Ishida's reaction, the figure let go of his throat, resulting in him falling to the ground while heavily coughing.

Although Ishida was absolutely terrified due to someone being able to ambush him that easily, he still wanted to see the identity of his attacker. However, his eyes almost popped out after seeing the back of a head filled with red and blue hair leisurely walking away from him.

'Yuna!? How is that possible!? Wasn't she a normal human!?'

As Yuna was walking, she removed the bundle of clothes she had strapped to her back and removed the clothes, revealing a wooden sword.

Simultaneously, another black portal opened, allowing another Hollow to appear, but before it could do anything, Yuna flicked her wrist, resulting in a slight clicking noise coming from her sword. Moments later, the sword sheath that was made to look like a wooden sword slid off, revealing a gleaming, thin metal sword. Then, her hand blurred, and before the Hollow knew what was going on, its head was sent flying through the air.

Ichida could only look dumbfounded as he witnessed Yuna killing a Hollow with what appeared to be a normal sword.

'What the hell!? How can she kill a Hollow so easily!? What is she!?'

Despite all the questions swirling around his head, he quickly realized that he had already activated the bait, so he had to get to work.

'It doesn't matter. I didn't plan for anyone to get hurt from the start anyway. I will kill every single Hollow that appears."

As Ishida said that, he pulled back his bow's string before letting it go, one-shotting another Hollow.

'Besides, would she really kill a fellow human?'

A shiver went through Ishida's spine before he pulled back his bow's string again, allowing another arrow to form. An image of Yuna's cold, emotionless eyes appeared in the back of Ishida's mind, making him realize that his life was actually at risk.

Meanwhile, Ichigo realized that Hollow tend to attack people with more Spiritual Power, causing an image of his little sister, Karin, to pop up in his mind.

'Shit! I need to find her as soon as possible. If anything happens to her, I will never forgive Ishida!'

Meanwhile, Tatsuki was done with her after-school activities and was leaving the school ground with a smile on her face and a skip in her step. Although she previously glared at Naruto for offering her to accompany her home, she couldn't help but be slightly happy as well.

While she was walking, she suddenly heard a feminine yell coming from the school grounds, making her frown. She knew that voice, so she instantly turned around and ran back towards the school. Well, she would have even done so if she didn't know the owner of the voice.

'Orihime, I hope everything is okay.'

Moments later, Tatsuki arrived at a rather unbelievable scene as Chizuru was currently choking Orihime. Although Chizuru was a pervert, Tatsuki didn't think she would go as far as attacking someone like this.

"CHIZURU!!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?"

When Chizuru heard Tatsuki's voice, she quickly looked at her, and to Tatsuki's surprise, there were tears in her eyes.

"Tatsuki, please stop me!"

Tatsuki's eyes widened when she realized that Chizuru didn't appear to have any control over the hand that was choking Orihime. In fact, it looked like she tried to stop herself with her other hand but wasn't capable of doing so.

"Hihihi, does it hurt!? It hurts, doesn't it!?"

Before Tatsuki could react, a weird-looking creature wearing a mask with heart-shaped eyes appeared. It stood on multiple thin tentacles and had just jumped down from the building while laughing loudly and landing nearby.

"Since I don't like conflicts, I just inject seeds into my victim's bodies, controlling them and making them kill each other. Like that, I won't need to participate in any conflict!"

As the creature, which clearly was a Hollow, said that, more students appeared. Most noticeably was that every single one of them had a tiny seed sticking out somewhere from their body.

As Tatsuki noticed the seeds, she noticed that something similar was also stuck in Chizuru's shoulder. However, the other controlled students were currently approaching Orihime, so Tatsuki had no time to think about this weird situation any further.

'Shit, whatever. For now, I'll beat down all the students that are being controlled and then deal with that tentacle freak.'

As she came to that conclusion, she sprinted toward the controlled students at high speed, easily knocking all of them down with a single hit. Not only was Tatsuki skilled in martial arts, but all the students moved very sluggishly due to being controlled, so she had no trouble knocking them all out.

"Is that all you got, you shitty freak!?"

After knocking everyone out, Tatsuki set her gaze on the Hollow in a provoking manner.

"Oh my, aren't you an energetic girl? However, you are not the only one that's energetic."

As soon as the Hollow stopped speaking, every single person Tatsuki previously knocked out stood back up again and attacked her instantly. However, as if she was predicting the sneak attack, she easily weaved through the attacks, knocking everyone down yet again. While doing so, Naruto's image briefly flashed past the back of her mind.

'In a real fight, never let your guard down, Tatsuki. There are no rules that will force your opponent to stop. Only when your enemy is no longer capable of moving or dead is a real fight over.'

A fond smile appeared on Tatsuki's face as she recalled Naruto's words. Despite feeling slightly uncomfortable due to Naruto mentioning death, she took his advice to heart. Additionally, she really wondered what kind of life Naruto had lived so far for him to mention death so casually.

'It doesn't matter, for now. The most important thing is defeating that freak in front of me. My stamina isn't exactly endless, so I can't continue beating these people down. Additionally, the more I beat them up, the worse their situation would be after I beat them up. I would just rush through and fight that monster, but that would endanger Orihime.'

As those thoughts past her mind, she dodged a barrage of projectiles the creature was firing while using her foot to kick one of them out of the air. If she hadn't done so, it would have hit Orihime.

Seeing Tatsuki's action, Orihime couldn't help but grit her teeth at how helpless she was. No, she wasn't just helpless, she was actively holding Tatsuki back bringing her in danger. She hated it.

'Tatsuki had always been protecting me. I hate this. I hate that Tatsuki is in danger because of my weakness. I don't want you to always be the one to protect me! I want to protect her this time!'

As that thought appeared and powerful determination filled her body, energy burst forth from the hair ornament her deceased brother gifted her years ago.

Tatsuki was surprised by the shockwave suddenly erupting from Orihime's body, and after giving her a brief glance, she noticed six small figures floating around her. Tatsuki briefly met Orihime's eyes and couldn't help but be a little surprised at how much determination they radiated.

'Something changed about Orihime's mental state.'

And as if to confirm Tatsuki's guess, Orihime met her eyes and smiled at her.

"This time, I'll be the one protecting you, Tatsuki."

Hearing her words, Tatsuki's eyes widened for a short moment before a smirk appeared on her face.

"Hehe, very well, then show me what you can do, Orihime."

"Pah! Where did that confidence come from, brat!?"

The Hollow was enraged due to the duo disregarding it, so it shot another barrage at the duo. Tatsuki was about to dodge and redirect them yet again when she noticed three of the six figures flying around Orihime approaching her.

Meanwhile, Orihime, who had heard someone talking to her for a few seconds now, finally realized that these voices stemmed from 6 fairy-like creatures that seemed to have formed from the hairpin she usually wore. After a brief conversation with the six little creatures, she quickly realized what she had to do.

"Hinagiku, Baigon, Lily, Santen Kesshun, I Repel Thee!"

While chanting that awkward chant, containing the names of three of the little creatures and the name of the technique, the three little guys who were just called formed a triangle in front of Tatsuki, easily blocking all of the projectiles.

"What!? WHAT WAS THAT!?"

Naturally, the Hollow was shocked by its attack getting entirely blocked, while Tatsuki only looked at the shield in front of her in interest.

'Seems like I'm not the only one getting stronger. Something is definitely going on.'

Before Tatsuki could ponder the situation any further, Orihime made her next move as the shield in front of Tatsuki dissolved, and another one of the six small creatures started glowing.

"Tsubaki, Koten Zanshun, I Repel Thee!"

This time, only a single one of the fairies flew forward, and instead of stopping at any point, it flew straight at the Hollow, which couldn't react in time before it was sliced in two halves by the tiny creature killing it instantly.

'*Whistel' That's some cutting power.'

Tatsuki couldn't help but be surprised by how easily Orihime cut through the Hollow's body. Currently, she only had her bare fists, so Tatsuki was genuinely not sure how she was supposed to defeat this weird creature.

However, this incident wasn't over yet, since as soon as the Hollow died, all the students that were controlled by it collapsed, while the bloody wound where they were infected was still clearly visible.

Luckily, Orihime also had an answer for that as she started chanting again.

"Shonou, Ayame, Souten Kishun, I Repel Thee!"

This time, the last two fairies started glowing as they flew to one of the wounded students and encased them inside an energy barrier. Seconds later, their wounds started healing at a visible pace, shocking Tatsuki.

'What incredible healing speed. Just how versatile is Orihime's power?'

As soon as she finished healing the first student, Orihime immediately started with the next and continued doing so until all of them were healed.

After she finished healing everybody, a deep sigh escaped Orihime's mouth as she could feel herself on the brink of collapse. Obviously, healing so many people in a row was not something that could be done without getting utterly exhausted. She was just about to talk with Tatsuki when a nerve-wreaking roar echoed over the school ground, causing the duo to pale.

*BOOM*

A loud explosion occurred as something heavy landed a few meters away from Tatsuki and Orihime. As soon as the dust settled, a grim expression appeared on the duo's faces as yet another Hollow had appeared. It looked like a supersized white horse with a single black stripe along its spine and a horse mask on its face.

"Look what I found; two delicious smelling humans~"

Hearing the creature's grating voice, Tatsuki frowned deeply as she glanced at Orihime.

'Nope, she is definitely out of commission. She can barely stand. Very well, then I'll give it a try.'

"We killed the first one, so we'll be able to kill the second one as well. Come."

As she finished speaking, Tatsuki motioned the Hollow towards her with a provoking gesture. Unmistakably, she wanted the Hollow to concentrate on her and ignore Orihime.

"So what if you defeated a weakling!? I'll show you my power!"

Tatsuki briefly pondered if this one was really stronger than the previous one but quickly shelved that thought. She had no time for negativity as she put all of her concentration on the creature in front of her.

As the Hollow started running towards Tatsuki at high speed, its mask split in half, revealing a massive mouth with a grotesque amount of teeth. Despite Hollow's disgusting appearance, Tatsuki kept her mind calm as she lightly sidestepped the creature's incoming bite attack and smashed her fist into its temple. Although the Hollow stumbled to the side due to her attack, Tatsuki could only curse as her fist hurt like hell due to the collision.

'Shit, that was a stupid idea. Punching a normal horse is probably already not a good experience, so doing the same to a monster version of one is definitely worse.'

"Hehe, not bad, little girl; I felt that a little~"

Hearing the creature's teasing words, Tatsuki scoffed in disdain and returned to her combat stance.

"I'm just getting started. Come!"

Like Tatsuki, the Hollow scoffed in disdain as it charged at Tatsuki again. However, unlike the first time, it turned around just before arriving in front of Tatsuki and threw a powerful kick with its hindlegs at her.

A glint passed through Tatsuki's eyes as she ducked under the kick and arrived next to the Hollow's front legs, which were the only thing supporting its body.

"How about this!?"

Tatsuki lowered her stance even further as she put her hand on the ground to stabilize her position and kicked the Hollow's leg with the sole of her right foot, causing it to slip away, unbalancing the Hollow.

The Hollow, not familiar with actual combat techniques, actually fell to the ground. Tatsuki briefly pondered whether she should try to get another it in while it was done, but she quickly dispelled that idea as the Hollow was flailing around like crazy, making it too risky.

'Damn it, I might have made it stumble, but what's the use of that? There is only one way to win this. I need to kill this monster. However, how am I supposed to do that?'

She briefly glanced at the small dent she managed to leave behind on the side of the Hollow's head and shook her head.

'That won't do. Just how often would I have to hit it in the same spot before I could deal any significant damage? Additionally, I've already spent some strength fending off all those controlled students, so I'm already exhausted.'

Tatsuki briefly glanced at Orihime and noticed that she had given up on standing up and seemed to try her best to activate her attack technique again. Currently, the situation was pretty helpless.

'No! I won't give up so easily! I'll put everything into one last punch! I will finish this.'

As she came to that conclusion, she started burning with determination as her facial expression grew fierce. Unlike Orihime, Tatsuki had been a fighter all her life. Although she only started recently participating in unofficial fights, that didn't mean she wasn't a fighter at heart. She had overcome stronger opponents before, and she will do it again.

Seeing the fierceness in Tatsuki's eyes, it faltered for a split second, and as soon it realized what had just happened, it became angry.

"You damn human! What's with these eyes!? How dare you look at me like you are the one hunting me!?"

However, Tatsuki didn't answer its question. In fact, she didn't even hear it as she was too deeply sunk into her own concentration.

'What is that? I feel weird energy inside me.'

Realizing that Tatsuki was ignoring it, the Hollow became even angrier as it charged toward her yet again. Tatsuki barely even noticed the Hollow move as her body automatically sidestepped its simplistic charge.

Yet again, Tatsuki had a free shot at the side of the Hollow's head, which she would naturally take full advantage of. She didn't know what that unknown energy inside her was, but her instincts were telling her that it would make her attack stronger, so she did all she could do to move it. To her surprise, some of the energy obediently moved inside her, and as soon as her fist collided with the Hollow's head, a loud sizzling sound was heard, followed by a cry of pain. Clearly, this attack dealt some damage.

To Tatsuki's surprise, she felt no pain in her fist, despite attacking much harder than before. Unfortunately, this small moment of surprise allowed the still-living Hollow to mount a counterattack as it kicked one of its front legs toward Tatsuki.

She cursed herself for losing focus for a moment and withdrew the hand she previously used to attack it to block the Hollow's counterattack. She was pretty sure that her arm would break in the process of blocking the attack, but that was a sacrifice she was willing to make to defeat this monster.

While blocking the incoming attack with one hand, her other hand moved as well, pushing towards the previously damaged point yet again. After her first attack, Tatsuki noticed that the unknown energy within her wasn't wholly spent yet, so she would use this chance to finish this.

The Hollow's counterattack collided with her arm, causing her to grunt in pain. To her surprise, she did not hear the sound of bones breaking and only felt that her arm started hurting.

She briefly pondered whether that was because a horse's legs weren't exactly built to kick forward while standing on all fours, but she shelved that thought as she put everything she had into her next attack.

*Boom*

A loud boom echoed over the school ground as Tatsuki's fist smashed into the Hollow's head. Yet again, sizzling sounds could be heard as her arm sunk deep into its head.

The Hollow stilled for a moment, and, to Tatsuki's relief, as it started disintegrating a few moments later, indicating that it was defeated as well.

"*Phew* I actually did it."

As she said that, she looked at her two arms in wonder and quickly found out why the Hollow's kick barely did any damage to her. There was a glowing yellow-orange substance covering both of her arms. Initially, she thought it looked like lava, but considering how she couldn't feel any heat from it, she quickly dismissed that thought.

However, around half a second later, a drop of the substance slashed on the grass underneath her, immediately setting it ablaze. Tatsuki's eyes widened as she quickly stomped out the small fire with her food, and as soon as she was done with it, she concentrated on her arms, wishing for the lava to vanish. Surprisingly, it happened without a second delay, making Tatsuki sigh in relief. She would rather not run around with lava permanently attached to her body.

Tatsuki shook her head to get rid of her idle thoughts, and despite being pretty much entirely out of steam, she shakily approached Orihime with a slight smile on her face. However, she quickly noticed that there was deep dissatisfaction on Orihime's face.

"Is something wrong, Orihime? You look unhappy."

Orihime shook a little when she heard Tatsuki's words as she would have rather hidden her current mood from Tatsuki, but since she had already seen through her, she could only sigh deeply.

"Sorry about that, Tatsuki. I'm just not satisfied that I had to be saved by you yet again."

Hearing Orihime's words, Tatsuki could only shake her head with a wry smile on her face.

"What are you talking about, Orihime? Didn't we fight side by side and win? You defeated the first opponent, and I the second. Yes, I fought while you no longer couldn't, but the only reason why I could still fight at that point was that you defeated the first one so quickly."

Hearing Tatsuki's words, Orihime had to think for a short moment before a small smile appeared on her face.

"Okay, you are right, Tatsuki. Nevertheless, thank you for the help."

"Oh, thanks as well."

As a comfortable silence settled between those two, a few more roars covered the school grounds, causing the duo to pale. Before either of them could do anything else, four more Hollows landed around them, surrounding them instantly.

While Orihime was overcome by a deep sense of resignation, Tatsuki growled in anger as she was overcome by a desperate sense of grim determination.

'Not like that! I just acquired a new power that will make me stronger! I WON'T FALL!!!'

"NOT LIKE THIS!!!"

Unprecedented fierceness appeared in her eyes as her right fist was coated in lava yet again. She no longer had the energy to do so with both. She took a shaky step forward towards one of the Hollow, and surprisingly it subconsciously took a step back from her.

"Man, I thought I might see something good, but this is beyond what I had suspected."

Before anyone could locate the source of the voice, a strong wind blew, and before anyone was any smarter, one of the Hollow was cut in two vertically, killing it instantly.

"No way."

Naturally, Tatsuki was surprised how easily yet another Hollow was killed, but when she saw the culprit, she couldn't help but relax her body, almost causing her to fall over. Luckily, before she could fall, a tall figure with blond hair, deep blue eyes, and a broad smile on their face appeared.

"These four were probably drawn here due to my Spiritual Power. Sorry for ruining your moment of victory, Tatsuki."

"Naruto."

All Tatsuki could utter was the name of the person who had just caught her. Lying in his arms, she felt like she was finally out of danger. However, before she could drift into unconsciousness, a certain thought tugged on her mind, quickly making it clear up.

"Wait a moment, did you spectate my whole fight!?"

"I arrived pretty much simultaneously with that second Hollow."

"Then why didn't you intervene?"

"Because I wanted to see you fight seriously."

Tatsuki was utterly dumbfounded by Naruto's statement, not understanding why he wanted to see her fight such a dangerous fight. However, before she could ask any further questions, Naruto lightly lifted her chin as his lips approached hers.

"You were beautiful the whole time, but nothing can top that last moment, where you decided to fight to the bitter end, no matter what will happen. Truly magnificent~"

Tatsuki flushed crimson when she heard Naruto's compliment as his lips came closer and closer to hers. Now that she thought about it wasn't suddenly screaming "Not like that!" extremely embarrassing. Well, Naruto clearly thought differently, but Tatsuki had no time to think about this any further as Naruto's lips were about to touch hers.

She could push him back. She knew that. Well, she didn't have the strength to do so, but she knew that Naruto would stop if she didn't want to kiss him. She knew that Naruto was not someone who would do something that someone close to him wouldn't like.

Despite that, she didn't stop him, so the duo's lips met. A shock went through Tatsuki's spine as soon as the kiss connected, surprising her greatly. She was not expecting that kissing Naruto would feel this good.

However, while the duo was kissing, Orihime flushed crimson and averted her eyes, while the three Hollow could only look at the scene in front of them, completely dumbfounded.

'Are these humans seriously making out in front of us?'

'What wrong with these two?'

'What kind of weird fetish is this?'

Despite their somewhat different thoughts, all three of them came to the same conclusion at the same time: attack. All three jumped at the kissing with fierce determination, but before they could reach the duo, Naruto's hand swiped through the air, causing another strong gale to blow, and before the attacking trio knew what was going on, their beheaded bodies crashed on the ground.

A few seconds later, Naruto and Tatsuki separated from each other, and while Naruto had a satisfied smile on his face, Tatsuki's face was flushed crimson while she was breathing heavily.

"T-That felt amazing."

"Heee~ Well, we can do it as often as you want from now on, Tatsuki~"

Realizing what she had just subconsciously said and hearing Naruto's teasing tone, Tatsuki somehow managed to blush even harder as she started punching Naruto's chest, dealing zero damage with every attack while cursing him.

"Idiot. Stupid. Pervert."

Naruto chuckled in amusement as he resisted the urge to give her another kiss due to her cute behavior and caught her fists instead.

"Sorry, but could you let me go? For now, we have another visitor."

Hearing Naruto's words, Tatsuki immediately froze up, while Orihime grew tense as well. On the other hand, Naruto let go of Tatsuki's hands and directed his attention in a specific direction while simultaneously placing himself in front of Tatsuki.

"Well then, would you mind coming out of your hiding place? Concealing yourself like that doesn't really paint a good picture of you while determining whether you are an ally or an enemy.

Moments later, a gaudily dressed man stepped out of the nearby bushes with a lax smile on his face. He had grey eyes and messy blond hair. He wore a striped dark green and white bucket hat and was dressed in a black haori paired with a dark green Shihakushō, the clothing Shinigami usually wore.

As he was approaching Naruto, he took out a fan to hide his mouth as he started speaking in a laid-back manner.

"Mah, no need to be so on guard. I'm no one shady, just a simple merchant."

"Not sure how you can claim not to be shady and a merchant at the same time, but sure, let's go with that. I can at least tell that you mean us no harm."

Hearing Naruto's words, the unknown person was slightly taken aback. After all, he was pretty sure he should have changed his demeanor well enough for Naruto to see him in a good light immediately.

'As expected as someone who can kill three Hollow with a wave of his hand. This young man is, without a doubt, not a simple person. Since he seemed to be allied with Kurosaki Ichigo and seemingly knows about Hollow and Shinigami, there is probably no need to put up much of an act in front of him.'

Having come to that conclusion, the air around the unknown man turned a little more serious as he put away his fan, revealing his whole face to Naruto.

"Well, my name is Urahara Kisuke, and you could say I'm an acquaintance of Kuchiki Rukia. Well, I assume you already know about Kurosaki Ichigo's other identity, but I would like to inform and show some by his side what he has to deal with as well. How about it, could you follow me."

Naruto hummed for a short moment before nodding in agreement.

"Well, you are obviously plotting something, but sure, let's go ahead. Additionally, don't think I hadn't noticed that fluctuation in your Spiritual Power when I dealt with those three Hollow. Probably want to dissect me right here and now, eh?"

Urahara regretted that he had put away his fan as his face briefly cramped up when Naruto guessed more of his secrets than he would have liked him to know.

'This brat... no, this young man is very dangerous. His senses and instincts are beyond anything I have ever seen. I should tread very carefully in front of him. I don't want to reveal too much just yet. Well, the statement about dissecting him was a little over the top. I AM interested in what kind of power he used, but not that interested.'

Yet again, Urahara took out his fan and started fanning himself, conveniently covering his face while doing so.

"Hahaha, how could I be plotting something or aiming to dissect people? I'm obviously just a harmless merchant. Anyway, since you agreed, please follow me."

While Tatsuki looked at Naruto with some doubt, Orihime could no longer hold on and lost consciousness. On the other hand, Naruto briefly stroked his chin before a mischievous expression appeared on his face.

"Let's go. I smell something interesting happening."

"Is it really a good idea to follow that suspicious man?"

"Mhh, yeah, don't worry. I'll tell you about it later, but I'm good at discovering someone's intentions towards me and others."

Hearing Naruto's words, Tatsuki simply nodded her head while a glimmer of interest sparked through her eyes. Obviously, there were a lot of mysterious things about Naruto, and she couldn't wait for him to reveal more about himself.

Naturally, Naruto noticed the interest in her eyes, causing him to smirk.

"How about you come over this weekend, and I can tell you e-ve-ry-thing about me~"

As Naruto said that, he wiggled his eyebrows, causing Tatsuki to blush yet again, resulting in another rain of fists descending on his chest, making him laugh out loud.

"Do you always have to say stuff in such a perverted manner, Naruto?"

"Hahaha, of course, I do! How else could I possibly see your cute blushing face."

Yet again, fists descended on Naruto's chest as Tatsuki let loose another string of curses.

"Stupid. Idiot. Bully."

As the duo was quarreling, Urahara noticed that he wasn't being followed just to see a flushed Tatsuki getting hugged by a broadly smiling Naruto.

"It's good that you enjoy your youth like that, but could you flirt around later? We are on a tight schedule."

This time it was Urahara's turn to receive a seething glare from Tatsuki that would make a lesser man tremble in terror, but he simply shrugged his shoulders, turned around, and walked away.

Seeing that, Naruto shrugged his shoulders as well, as he picked up Orihime, who was currently incapable of walking, immediately earning himself another glare from Tatsuki.

"Well, what else am I supposed to do? Although you can still walk, you certainly can't walk while carrying some, and Orihime is completely out. I can't exactly drag her behind me by her leg."

Hearing Naruto's reasonable words, Tatsuki could only huff in annoyance as she started walking after Urahara, leaving a wrily smiling Naruto behind.

'*Sigh* So unreasonable. Oh well, a bit of teasing and everything will work out fine~'

[You really adopted most of Yuna's strategies when it comes to women, didn't you?]

'Well, I mean... duh? If you want to learn, who better to learn from than the best.'

[*Sigh* I don't even know if and how I'm supposed to retort that.]

'Hehe, you aren't because you can't~'

Naruto chuckled to himself as he happily started humming while walking after Tatsuki and Urahara. He was already looking forward to her flushed face after he teased her some more.