Hope in the Rain

At a street corner in Karakura Town, Sawada Tsunayoshi smiled and waved goodbye to the soul before him. It had been over a year since he arrived in Karakura Town.

In that year, Tsunayoshi had fully mastered his Fullbring. He lived a life of sleeping through daytime classes and hunting Hollows in the evenings. In his free time, he had become good friends with Tatsuki and Ichigo, often visiting each other's homes.

Taking this opportunity, Tsunayoshi got to know the Kurosaki Family: Kurosaki Isshin, who had lost his Shinigami powers; the Quincy Masaki Kurosaki; and Ichigo's two younger sisters, Yuzu and Karin.

Tsunayoshi had once considered asking Masaki for guidance on Quincy training methods, but his Fullbring was at a critical stage at the time, so he put it aside for later.

As for Tatsuki's home, there wasn't much to say. In her family's dojo, it was a chaotic brawl between three little brats. But because Tsunayoshi had the power of Fullbring, he always ended up the victor in hand-to-hand combat. Gradually, Tsunayoshi noticed a strange glint in Tatsuki's eyes when she looked at him.

When he first began training his Fullbring, Sawada Tsunayoshi had once suggested to his mother that they move away from Karakura Town. That was the first time he saw an expression beyond gentleness on his mother's face.

His mother, Sawada Nana, sternly rejected Tsunayoshi's suggestion. Their duty was to support Father Iemitsu's work abroad, not to hold him back.

After his mother's guidance, Tsunayoshi understood that his family wouldn't be leaving Karakura Town anytime soon. Since that was the case, he had to minimize the possibility of his family being threatened as much as possible.

It was from then on that Tsunayoshi began his Hollow hunting. His Fullbring was quite miraculous, carrying with it the experience of use. Tsunayoshi could take advantage of the Hollows to train his Fullbring.

Karakura Town truly lived up to its name as a Seireitei. Hollow attacks on humans happened frequently. He didn't know which Shinigami was stationed here to protect the town, but these Hollows were never completely cleared out, giving Tsunayoshi plenty of opportunities to fight.

In the process of hunting Hollows, Tsunayoshi also often encountered lingering souls attached to the World of the Living. Although he wasn't a Shinigami yet and couldn't perform Konso on them directly, as long as they could communicate normally, he would do his best to persuade these souls to ascend to Soul Society on their own.

Not a Shinigami in body, yet doing the work of a Shinigami—Tsunayoshi tirelessly carried on like this.

Over this past year, Tsunayoshi had thoroughly mapped out the entire terrain of Karakura Town, even dabbling in the surrounding areas. He had found the riverside that appeared in the anime—the one where Ichigo's mother, Masaki Kurosaki, was attacked.

During his time with the Kurosaki family, every member had earned a great deal of Tsunayoshi's goodwill. For that lively, smiling Auntie Masaki, if he had the ability, Tsunayoshi wanted to save her if he could.

So Tsunayoshi found that riverside in advance, hoping to locate and eliminate the Hollow named GrandFisher before it could strike. But things didn't go his way—that Hollow was an old veteran. Even Soul Society hadn't managed to catch it; there was no way it would stay in one place for long.

With no other choice, Tsunayoshi could only try multiple approaches. He remembered that the day of Yhwach's The Auswählen was called Everything All the Rain, because that was the day Auntie Masaki died. For Ichigo and his father, only rain-like sorrow remained in their hearts.

With only this information to go on, Tsunayoshi found an excuse to join the school's Weather Club, specifically responsible for recording rainy days. Whenever there was heavy rain, Tsunayoshi would go out.

In response, Mother Nana had repeatedly told Tsunayoshi to quit this dangerous Weather Club. After many failed attempts to dissuade him, she could only prepare the best reflective raincoat for him, repeatedly urging him to be careful before letting him go out.

Sawada Tsunayoshi pushed open the door and came home. It was summer vacation now, so during the break he could devote himself entirely to hunting Hollows. Having just helped two souls ascend, Tsunayoshi was preparing to rest at home.

"Back? Club activities over?" Mother Nana asked. Club activities and invitations to friends' houses were the excuses Tsunayoshi often used.

"Yeah, no rain lately, nothing for me to do..."

Before Tsunayoshi could finish his sentence, a warning sound came from the TV. "A sudden heavy rainstorm has hit Karakura Town. Residents, please be careful..."

Tsunayoshi's expression changed. He had a bad feeling about this. Quickly shouting to his mother, he grabbed the raincoat hanging by the door and rushed out.

"Mom, I've got work to do! Save me dinner!"

"Be careful! Come back early!"

With his mother's trailing words, Tsunayoshi dashed out the door. The TV forecast was accurate—no sooner had he left the house than raindrops began to fall from the sky, gradually increasing in intensity.

Tsunayoshi skillfully ducked into an alley near his home. He had performed this action countless times. In the alley, no one could notice his movements. A green light flashed beneath his feet, and propelled by that light, he leaped high into the air, using the cover of the rain to jump above Karakura Town.

The ability Sawada Tsunayoshi used was called Fullbring Light—manipulating Reishi to create a foothold beneath his feet. The user could step on this Reishi to gain a powerful spring effect, a movement ability centered on bouncing.

When using Fullbring Light, the gathered Reishi emitted a green glow, making it relatively easy to recognize.

Tsunayoshi bounced at high speed, silently praying that today wasn't the day of The Auswählen. If it was, at least let him make it there in time.

At that riverside where Tsunayoshi was rushing, Masaki had already confronted the Hollow named GrandFisher.

This Hollow had four limbs, brown fur all over its body, and on its ferocious mask grew a whip-like mimicry organ. It could use this whip to conceal its form, disguise itself as a human, and specifically lure and attack people with high spiritual pressure.

This Hollow lived up to its name—it only used its mimicry ability to fish. Its actual combat ability was very mediocre; all its talent was poured into fishing and escaping.

Just moments ago, this Hollow had disguised itself as a girl standing by the river, tricking the kind-hearted Ichigo into thinking she was about to jump in. When Ichigo ran to its side, it revealed its true form and prepared to attack him.

As a Quincy, Masaki naturally stood in front of her son. Having once been a pure-blooded Quincy, Masaki's Blut Vene and Blut Arterie were both far stronger than those of ordinary Quincies.

Facing such a Hollow, Masaki was naturally unafraid. In fact, whether this Hollow, which only knew how to lure, could even last a single round against her was questionable.

Blue light flickered on Masaki's arm, spreading like veins up her forearm. This was Blut Vene, granting the Quincy formidable defensive power.

The Hollow before her, however, was clearly oblivious. Seeing Masaki had already activated her ability, it raised its claws and leaped high, treating the mother and son with high spiritual pressure as its next meal.

Masaki raised her forearm to block in front of her. If this Hollow dared to get close, she would use her Spirit Bow and Arrows to blast it at point-blank range. This combat strategy had never failed Masaki, and it was also how she had met Ichigo's father, Kurosaki Isshin.

The time she encountered Kurosaki Isshin, Masaki's bait plan had failed. That Hollow was too strong—it had broken through her Blut Vene, injuring her and allowing Hollow Poison to mix into her body, making her no longer a pure-blooded Quincy.

But this time, Masaki Kurosaki was confident. The spiritual pressure emanating from this Hollow was no match for her. Her battle plan would surely succeed.

Just as Masaki Kurosaki thought this, she suddenly realized with shock that she couldn't muster any strength. The power within her was rapidly disappearing, and the Reishi wouldn't obey her commands at all.

Masaki Kurosaki panicked. For a Quincy, being unable to control Reishi meant having no combat ability at all. And that Hollow had already leaped in front of them. What could she do?

In desperation, Masaki could only turn around and hug Ichigo, using her own body to shield him from the Hollow's attack. This was her last instinct as a mother.

As for Ichigo, he had never seen such a scene before. Both the Hollow's terrifying appearance and the explosive spiritual pressure it emitted froze him in place, unable to move.

The only thing Masaki could do was block Ichigo's view, to prevent him from seeing the horrific sight of her being killed.

Yes, Masaki had given up. The moment she turned, the Reishi inside her vanished faster and faster. She didn't know what was happening; she only knew that she and her son were probably going to die at this Hollow's hands.

Masaki closed her eyes and prayed, praying that this Hollow would spare Ichigo, praying for a miracle.

A whistling sound whizzed past Masaki's ear. The death that should have come seemed delayed. Masaki turned her head and saw that a huge arrow glowing with red light was stuck in the claw of the Hollow attacking them. The Hollow, wincing in pain, clutched its hand and turned to flee.

GrandFisher couldn't understand what kind of attack it was that it couldn't defend against at all, as if it had been easily pierced like tofu.

True to a Hollow that had invested all its talent into fishing and escape, it didn't dwell on the arrow. With just that one shot, it knew it couldn't win against its opponent. Without even a thought of who its foe might be, its first instinct was to turn and flee.

Three more whistling sounds rang out beside Masa. Three more arrows struck the Hollow's limbs in quick succession, pinning the fleeing creature firmly to the ground.

Glint Arrow.

A technique capable of rapidly firing consecutive arrows with a binding effect. The arrowheads were wrapped in spiraling red flames, granting them high piercing power, typically used to pin down enemies.

Sensing that she was no longer in danger, Masa turned to look behind her. On the bridge behind her stood a figure of modest height, one that seemed somewhat familiar. What caught Masa's attention most was the longbow in his hands, as tall as he was.

The bow's body was made of white bone, its string composed of red energy. The longbow also had a handguard, and Masa could faintly make out a bit of red decoration.

A Quincy?

No sooner had this thought risen in Masa's mind than she heard the voice of the person across from her.

"Get down!"

Without a second thought, Masa hugged Ichigo and dropped to the ground. The next moment, a millstone-sized mass of red flame flew over their heads. From the sharp shape at the flame's tip, she could vaguely tell it was an arrow.

The red arrow was unstoppable. It reached the pinned GrandFisher without any hindrance, the massive arrow piercing straight through it. The red flames thoroughly incinerated its remaining body, breaking it back down into the Reishi of heaven and earth.

Crimson Dragon Vortex Arrow!