"Whoa—"

White moonlight washed over young Ichigo. He gave the long blade in his hand a shake, then looked up at the storm clouds scattering overhead. He could hardly believe a single strike of his had changed the weather.

"Getsuga Tensho... so cool!"

His eyes went wide and starry. Nine years old was peak imagination age, and although Ichigo had matured early thanks to seeing ghosts his whole life, he hadn't outgrown his childlike heart yet. Now that he'd apparently become a hero straight out of a comic book, pride swelled in his chest.

"Oh no! Mom!"

The thought snapped him back to the present. There was something far more important to do right now. He hurried to his mother's side and lifted her up, his small frame hoisting her onto his shoulders with surprising ease.

"So light... no, I've gotten stronger."

He dropped the twin blades to the ground. Both swords were honestly just dead weight for him right now.

For a moment, Ichigo thought he heard two faint sighs, but he paid them no mind. The urgent task was getting his mother home so his father, a doctor, could give her basic treatment.

"Ichigo!"

Before he could move, a familiar voice rang out. Ichigo looked up and broke into a smile, because the person running toward him was none other than his father, Isshin Kurosaki.

"Dad!" His voice cracked with tears. "Hurry, save Mom!"

...

Kurosaki Clinic.

His mother had been safely taken to a nearby hospital. The wound had been closed with the power of Blut, but the effect wouldn't hold for long, and she'd already lost a dangerous amount of blood before the bleeding stopped. She was receiving a transfusion now.

"Don't worry, Ichigo." Isshin ruffled his son's hair and gave a hearty smile. "Masaki... your mom's going to be fine. She just needs rest."

"But—"

"No buts." Isshin's tone shifted. "So. You protected your mother?"

"Yeah..."

"Your power awakened, then."

"I think so."

"We'll get into the details later. Once Urahara gets here, we'll figure out exactly what happened to you."

It wasn't long before the Urahara in question arrived at the hospital. The three of them found an empty room and began to talk.

"So... Mrs. Kurosaki's power vanished because of this so-called Quincy progenitor, and that's why she was injured." Kisuke Urahara summed it up. "Then young Ichigo's power awakened, he killed the Hollow, and saved Mrs. Kurosaki."

"That's right." Isshin nodded. "Masaki once told me that when the Quincy progenitor awakens from its slumber, it takes nine years to reclaim its power. Looks like what it reclaimed was very likely the power of its Quincy descendants."

"That still needs investigating. Are you still in contact with Mr. Ishida?"

"Ryuken... I'll ask him when the time comes."

"Which brings us to Ichigo." Kisuke Urahara turned his gaze on the boy. "What are you thinking, young Ichigo?"

"Hm?" Ichigo scratched his head. "What do you mean, what am I thinking, Mr. Urahara?"

After a brief introduction, Ichigo had learned that the Kisuke Urahara before him and his own father had both once been Soul Reapers, but had ended up here for various reasons. And according to his father, Urahara had once saved his mother's life, which made him a good person.

"Now that you've awakened and gained power, what do you plan to do with it?"

"...What do you mean?"

"I don't know why you awakened at this age, but your power is considerable. Not just in the World of the Living, even in the Soul Society, where souls belong, no existence like you has ever appeared."

"If you're willing, you can grow strong." Urahara's expression turned serious. "But the stronger you become, the more danger you'll attract."

"..."

"If I hadn't had power, Mom probably wouldn't be here right now." Ichigo fell silent for a moment, then spoke with fierce resolve. "I don't know what kind of power I might face someday, but I need power. I need the power to protect my family!"

"...Heh." Urahara smiled, meeting that unwavering gaze. "Then from now on, I'll be your instructor in the ways of the Soul Reaper. I look forward to working with you."

...

A lot had happened, and some things could never go back to how they were. But life went on. Ichigo's daily routine didn't change much, his life was basically the same as before.

Except his training grounds moved from the old karate dojo to the basement of the Urahara Shop. The training itself became the four arts of the Soul Reaper, Zankensoki. And his training partners were no longer ordinary people, but Mr. Urahara's two friends: Mr. Yoruichi and Mr. Tessai.

After being discharged from the hospital, his mother Masaki didn't say a single word of blame, nor did she ask many questions. She'd already heard everything from her husband. When she saw Ichigo, she simply said with deep warmth, "Our little Ichigo has grown up. You can protect Mom now."

Those words lit an even fiercer hunger for power in him. With enough strength, he could protect his mother better, and everyone else too.

The most direct proof of that hunger came in the week after Masaki was discharged. He trained so hard that even Kisuke Urahara cried out that he couldn't keep up.

"Ichigo—"

A month had passed since that rainy night. Ichigo, fresh from training, heard his mother's call and jogged from his room to the living room. There sat Masaki, facing a silver-haired man, while his father stood nearby with a grave expression.

"This is your uncle, Ryuken Ishida." Masaki made the introduction. "He's a Quincy."

After a month of training, Ichigo had a rough grasp of the basic concepts of the soul world.

Beyond the World of the Living, where humans dwelled, there was the Soul Society, home to normal souls and souls of great power. And there was Hueco Mundo, the world where fallen souls became Hollows. These three worlds made up the current Three Realms.

And among humans, there were those who wielded great power as well: the quincy. His mother Masaki had once been one of them, but she'd lost her power for some reason.

"Ishida... Uncle!" Ichigo froze for a beat, then beamed. "Hi, Uncle!"

Ichigo had never met a single relative in his entire life, not from his mother's side, not from his father's. His parents were like two people utterly alone in the world, with no siblings, no parents, no elders ever mentioned. When he was little, he'd asked if he had grandparents. The answer was always the same: they were gone.

Now an uncle had appeared out of nowhere, and Ichigo was overjoyed. Because besides his father, mother, and sisters, he finally had another family member.

➤ Next: The Granted Power