"...Huh?"

In a corner of the school, it was noon. Early June, and the weather was already scorching. Under the blazing sun, even the air itself seemed to warp and shimmer.

"What did you just say?" Ichigo stared at her in disbelief. "You want me to help you? Then what the hell are you even here for?"

"I..." Rukia faltered, a faint flush rising to her cheeks. "Due to certain... special circumstances, I've lost the vast majority of my Soul Reaper powers. I can no longer carry out my duties."

"And what's that got to do with me?" Ichigo crossed his arms. "Can't you just tell the Soul Society to send a different Soul Reaper? Why does it have to be you?"

"I... I have my reasons!"

"You're being pretty damn unreasonable here." Ichigo frowned, impatience creeping into his voice. "I've got my own life. Why should I go out of my way to help you?"

"But... right now, you're the only one capable of eliminating Hollows."

"..."

"You know as well as I do that Karakura Town is a Jureichi. Hollows appear here far more frequently than in other cities." Rukia's expression turned grave. "If no Soul Reaper deals with them, countless innocent souls will lose their lives!"

"After all that, can't you just report the truth to the Soul Society?"

"...I have my reasons." Rukia spoke slowly. "Of course, you're free to refuse. I'll carry out my duties myself, even if it costs me my life."

"You..."

"Please help her... Kurosaki..." A timid voice drifted from the window behind them as a brownish-yellow head poked out. "Kuchiki's already in this state... and she's still trying to do her duty as a Soul Reaper. It's just too sad..."

"Hey... don't go letting your sympathy run wild, Orihime!"

The window swung open. A girl with long brownish-yellow hair and a sweet face grinned cheerfully, sticking out her tongue.

"Hehe!" Orihime Inoue, a six-petal flower hairpin clipped into her hair, laughed. "Busted!"

"Idiot, Orihime!" Beside her, a tomboyish figure with short navy-blue hair, her classmate and childhood friend, Tatsuki Arisawa, snapped in exasperation. "If you hadn't said anything, Ichigo never would've noticed us!"

"Impossible, Arisawa." A low, steady voice cut in. Brown-skinned and heavily built, the towering Yasutora Sado stepped out from the side. "Ichigo definitely knew we were here from the start."

"That's right, that's right!" Mizuiro Kojima and Keigo Asano popped out as well. "That freak Ichigo totally knew we were eavesdropping!"

"You guys..." Ichigo's fist clenched, his mouth twitching uncontrollably. "You're all that free, huh?! HUH?!"

"They're...?"

Just as Rukia had said, she'd lost most of her power. She hadn't noticed it back in the classroom, but now, with all of them standing before her, she focused her senses and realized that all five of them possessed spiritual power.

That was clearly abnormal. Even with Karakura Town being a Jureichi, there was no logical reason for so many spiritually aware humans to appear at once. And on top of that, every single one of them was a friend of this monster standing in front of her...

Beep beep beep.

"Hm?"

The urgent sound cut through the banter. Every eye turned to Rukia as she pulled a phone-like device from her pocket.

"A Hollow... it's close! It's fast! It's nearby! It's about to appear!"

THUD!

A dull sound echoed in their ears. The strange noise made everyone furrow their brows. The next second, the space not far away seemed to tear open, and an enormous black hole materialized.

"ROAR!"

A giant monster, green-skinned, wearing a white mask shaped like a monkey's face, standing three to four meters tall, burst from the black hole with an ear-splitting roar.

"Garganta?! How?! How could an ordinary Hollow come to the World of the Living through a Garganta?!"

"What's a Garganta?" Ichigo asked, then glanced at the Hollow. "This thing... really is pretty weak."

"Don't underestimate it!" Rukia said sharply. "I know you're strong, but compared to Hollows, a Soul Reaper's spirit body is fragile. If you let your guard down for even a second..."

WHOOSH!

Blue light flashed. A single arrow of light shot forth. The next instant, countless light arrows materialized, surging toward the Hollow like a tidal wave.

"What is this?! Gah!"

Before it could get out any last words, the Hollow was swallowed by the barrage. Not even a speck remained as it dissolved into the air.

"Kuchiki is absolutely right." Looking up, a straight-backed figure stood at the second-floor window. "Don't be careless, Ichigo. Hollows are exactly the kind of thing you should eliminate with ranged attacks."

"You're...?!"

He vaulted over the railing and landed lightly on the ground below. Short blue hair parted down the middle, tall and slender, glasses perched on his nose. Ichigo's cousin, Uryu Ishida, made his stylish entrance.

"This is Uryu Ishida, my cousin." Ichigo didn't bother saying much more about the flashy bastard. "As you can see, he's a Quincy."

"A Quincy... isn't that a race that went extinct ages ago?!"

"Most of what's written in history textbooks has been freely rewritten." Uryu adjusted his glasses. "Don't you even know that much, Soul Reaper?"

"..." Rukia took a step back, sweeping her gaze over the group. She let out a long breath. "As expected... there really aren't any normal people around a freak..."

"Well, by traditional standards, I guess we don't exactly qualify as normal." Ichigo scratched his head. "But birds of a feather flock together. Seems normal enough to me."

"Within your own frame of reference, sure." Rukia's eyes narrowed. "So? Will you accept it or not? The work of a Soul Reaper."

"...Fine. Until your replacement shows up, I'll reluctantly lend you a hand."

"...You total tsundere!" Tatsuki's mouth twitched as she couldn't hold back the jab. "You were planning to do it from the very start, and you've been raring to go this whole time, haven't you?!"

"Wh-who's a tsundere?! Who's raring to go?! Say that to my face, Arisawa!"

"Don't point it out, Arisawa... it'll be awkward if he gets exposed." Orihime tugged at Arisawa's sleeve, her face dead serious. "Just do what I do and pretend you don't know!"

"You guys... don't push it...!"

"A free punching bag, and no risk of breaking it? You've been itching for this, haven't you, Ichigo." Mizuiro's voice came out of nowhere.

"Yeah, yeah! Ichigo's a total violence freak!" Keigo spoke from deep, hard-earned experience.

"I'll always help you, Ichigo." Sado's simple words carried unshakable conviction.

"Well, if you're too slow, don't expect me to leave the Hollow for you."

"...You guys are DONE, all of you!"

➤ Next: Anomalies of the World of the Living