New Fullbringer

A green light flickered beneath his feet as Tsunayoshi stepped on a Fullbring Light, carrying Ichigo and Tatsuki as he wove swiftly through the streets and alleys of Karakura Town, relying on his familiarity with the area, occasionally leaping high into the air with the two of them in deserted spots.

Fortunately, neither Ichigo nor Tatsuki were faint of heart; neither let out a single scream. Tatsuki clung tightly to Tsunayoshi's chest, while Ichigo occasionally let out an excited cheer.

"Tsuna, you should've brought out this ability sooner," Ichigo said, adrenaline spiking from the view of Karakura Town from above.

"No wonder I always ran into dead ends—you were deliberately leading me into traps, weren't you?" Tatsuki demanded.

At Tatsuki's accusation, Tsunayoshi laughed it off and dropped them both into a grove of trees. Soon, Ichigo and Tatsuki fell silent. Not far off, a monster with a white mask was chasing Uryū.

Uryū moved like an ice skater, blue light under his feet, constantly kiting the masked monster, occasionally turning back to shoot an arrow at it, precisely baiting its aggro.

Uryū noticed Tsunayoshi and the others. Seeing that Tsunayoshi hadn't come alone, he instinctively moved to activate Hirenkyaku and hide, only to find Tsunayoshi waving him over.

Uryū slid a graceful crescent arc to Tsunayoshi's side and asked with a sour expression, "What do you mean by bringing two more people here?"

"Relax, they can both see Hollows," Tsunayoshi said, waving a hand in reassurance.

"You know that's not what I mean. Hunting Hollows is dangerous—bringing two ordinary people along is too risky." As he spoke, Uryū moved to nock an arrow.

"Hold on, Uryū, leave this to me." Tsunayoshi pressed down on Uryū's bow hand, green Reiatsu flickering as a black handcuff appeared in his grip.

Fullbring Cloud Attribute equipment: Arnold's Handcuffs.

Tsunayoshi ducked under the Hollow's attack, slapping the Arnold's Handcuffs onto its claw. Then, under the proliferating effect of Cloud Attribute flames, the handcuffs multiplied endlessly, a series of clinks ringing out across the Hollow's body.

In an instant, the Hollow was completely bound by iron rings from head to toe, utterly immobilized.

Tsunayoshi kicked the Hollow over and turned back to Ichigo and Tatsuki. "See that? That kind of monster is called a Hollow. When a human soul can't ascend and lingers too long in the real world, it turns into something like this."

As he spoke, he looked back. Tatsuki's expression was fine—not too frightened—but Ichigo was hugging his own arms, cold sweat streaming down his forehead, his face twisted in terror.

"I've seen it. I've seen that kind of monster before!" Ichigo's eyes darted unsteadily as fragments of memory flashed through his mind. "No, how did I survive?"

Watching the Hollow's destructive rampage, Ichigo didn't think he could have survived an encounter with it.

"No, Mom!" Ichigo suddenly cried out. At the end of the memory, his mother had stood in front of him. So how had she survived?

"Easy, easy—didn't everyone come out of it alive?" Tsunayoshi patted Ichigo's back. This was the first time he'd seen Ichigo look so terrified.

Ichigo's emotions steadied a little, then he grabbed Tsunayoshi's shoulders and asked, "Tsuna, was my mom also a superhuman?"

That was the only conclusion Ichigo could reach; otherwise, there was no explaining how both he and his mother had survived.

"Uh, Ichigo, don't overthink it. Aunt Masa was probably just an ordinary person," Tsunayoshi said, silently adding in his mind, She's an ordinary person now.

"Tsuna, every time you ditched me, was it to fight monsters like this?" Tatsuki asked.

"Pretty much. Mostly patrols—Hollows don't show up every day," Tsunayoshi said.

"Can I learn to protect Karakura Town too, like you and Ishida?" Tatsuki asked, stars in her eyes.

"We can try," Tsunayoshi said, leaving room.

"From now on, I'll patrol with you and protect Karakura Town!" Tatsuki stared at Tsunayoshi with burning intensity.

Tsunayoshi wasn't the same Sawada Tsunayoshi from Reborn!—he could tell when someone had feelings for him. Honestly, Tatsuki was pretty good-looking. Faced with a girl he'd grown up with who was willing to promise to face danger together, how could he play dumb?

"Okay." Tsunayoshi smiled and answered softly. Tatsuki smiled back, satisfied, though a hint of girlish shyness crept into her demeanor.

"Ahem, while you two are flirting, could you maybe deal with this Hollow first? You've practically tortured it to death," Uryū commented dryly.

As Tsunayoshi's Reiatsu poured in, the handcuffs around the Hollow tightened further. The Hollow no longer had the strength to even cry out.

"Oh, sorry, sorry." Tsunayoshi gave the handcuffs a tug, and the restraints fully contracted, cinching the Hollow dead.

"Tsuna, if I learn from you, can I gain power too? I want to have superpowers. I never want to feel helpless again," Ichigo said, grabbing Tsunayoshi's shoulders.

"You shouldn't have any problem."

"What do you mean? Why is it no problem for Ichigo?" Tatsuki asked indignantly.

"People have different talents. Cut me some slack," Tsunayoshi said, thinking to himself, That's the strongest talent in all of Bleach. How can a mortal like Tatsuki compare to Ichigo?

"Sawada Tsunayoshi, what are you planning to teach them?" Uryū could tell that both classmates had some Reiatsu—they could see Hollows. The question was what ability to teach.

"Fullbring. That's the ability most suited to humans," Tsunayoshi said.

Mainly because he didn't dare teach Ichigo either Shinigami powers or Quincy abilities without the Kurosaki couple's consent. Fullbring was different.

"What? Now do you see how dangerous Inoue's brother is?" Tsunayoshi asked.

"I get it. But is there any way to let Inoue see her brother? Before he ascends," Ichigo said. True to form, that kind of kind, almost saintly nature was Ichigo's character.

Throughout all of Bleach, Ichigo mainly defeated his opponents. The only time he ever truly felt killing intent was when Shukuro Tsukishima used his Fullbring to control all of Ichigo's friends and family—only when his spirit was truly cornered did Ichigo unleash that murderous intent.

At Ichigo's request, Tsunayoshi thought for a moment before saying, "If it were anyone else, maybe not. But with you and me, we might be able to try."

"Really? Let's go find Inoue right now!" Ichigo said joyfully.

"In such a hurry?"

"Didn't you say souls could turn into those monsters? Then we have to resolve it as fast as possible!" Ichigo said matter-of-factly.

"His Causal Chain on his chest is still long. What's the rush? Have you figured out a reason to show up at her door twice in a row?"

At Tsunayoshi's words, Ichigo scratched his head awkwardly. Then he heard something that made his face fall.

"Speaking of which, you're worried about Inoue, but what about your own house? Ichigo, haven't you always said spirits show up at your place?" Tsunayoshi asked.

"If that's the case, isn't Ichigo just stupidly lucky to have gotten off so easy?" Tatsuki asked thoughtfully.

Ichigo immediately grabbed Tsuna by both shoulders, pressing urgently: "Why didn't you say so sooner? When we were kids, we used to play with those souls! If it was that dangerous, we should've chased them out!"

"Isn't it precisely because you, blockhead, didn't mind keeping them company that those souls were able to move on peacefully? Relax, it's not a big deal," Tsuna reasoned. He even suspected that Ichigo's bleeding-heart kindness had been forged from childhood by those very souls tormenting him.

"I guess that makes sense?" Ichigo nodded blankly, then caught himself. "But there's still a chance something unexpected could happen, right? What if we run into one of those masked... oh, Hollow monsters again?"

"That's possible."

"Then let's start training right away—I can't wait!" At that rebellious age, how could Ichigo resist the allure of superpowers?

"In that case, gather at my place." Tsuna turned to Uryū and said, "I'll trouble you with the same thing tomorrow. I'll take them to Inoue's house one more time."

Tsuna's dad had recently taken on a project in another region of Japan, and his mom had gone along to take care of him, so Tsuna was living alone for now. At home, he didn't have to hide his use of Fullbring in daily life.

Uryū waved his hand helplessly, signaling that he'd take over Tsuna's duties.

Tsuna wrapped one arm around Tatsuki's waist, casually hoisted Ichigo, and used Fullbring Light to head toward his own house. Faint sounds of Ichigo's protests could still be heard in the air.

"You bastard, at least hold onto me properly..."

At Tsuna's house, Tsuna taught Tatsuki and Ichigo the basics of Fullbring while using its power to manipulate every appliance in the house and cook dinner, all under their envious gazes.

"You get the basic idea, right? Before you start training, pick out a cherished item of yours—it'll make drawing out the soul within it much easier. If you don't have one on you, we can start tomorrow," Tsuna said.

"No need. My cherished item is always on me."

Tatsuki rolled up her sleeve to reveal the wrist guard on her arm—it was the birthday gift Tsuna had given her two years ago. She'd worn it ever since she got it.

The moment he saw the wrist guard, Tsuna was even more certain of Tatsuki's feelings. If she could master Fullbring with it, there'd be no need to replace the guard under the protection of her spiritual power.

Tsuna exchanged a glance with Tatsuki, then turned his gaze to Ichigo. Hearing that he needed a cherished item, Ichigo hesitated for a while before pulling a necklace out from his collar.

"If it's a cherished item, I guess it'd be this necklace Mom gave me?"

Hanging from the necklace around Ichigo's neck was a cross-shaped pendant. Tsuna recognized it at a glance—a Quincy Cross, Masa's Quincy Cross. After losing her power, Masa had hung her Quincy Cross on Ichigo as a protective charm.